The American Spectator : Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought

Text Size

Feature

Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought

By Max Schulz from the September 2009 issue

California’s privileged species lord it over the endangered farmer.

ANYONE DOUBTING THAT OUR nation’s environmental and economic policies can get seriously out of whack from time to time need only look to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Located in California’s Central Valley, between the state’s capital city and Stockton, it is where the American, Mokelumne, Cosumnes, and Calaveras Rivers flow into the larger Sacramento and San Joaquin. It is also where the saddest agricultural saga since the Depression-era Dust Bowl is now playing, as the waters from those rivers flow beneath San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and out to sea. As they flow unimpeded to the Pacific, those waters are also washing out to sea the livelihoods of tens of thousands of farm workers and agricultural business owners. It is an economic as well as human tragedy.

This is a story about water, about its lack as well as its abundance. But it is also a story about the price we pay to protect the environment, and whether we are striking the right balance between nature and mankind. In the end, the question is whether people should exercise dominion over nature, or whether nature should lord over man. To most Americans, the answer is obvious: our capacity to make nature subservient to our needs justifies doing so, insomuch as we act as responsible stewards of the environment. But however obvious that might be to most people, the countervailing idea—that nature should take precedence over mankind—is being sown into a series of laws and regulations that are causing undue torment and distress.

The American West was created, it is fair to say, by mankind taming nature and using it for his own purpose. That is how the San Joaquin Valley over time became the most productive agricultural region in the world. Massive and expensive irrigation and public works projects captured the waters in the San Joaquin River Delta to transform a desert into a paradise, providing much of the fruits and vegetables and dairy products Americans consume. Millions more acre-feet of water are diverted each year to the state’s coastal population centers from these and other rivers, like the Colorado. By damming and diverting mighty rivers, and reshaping the landscape all throughout the American West, the federal government allowed Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco to bloom into the cities we know today.

That is the irony of California: a state that is Valhalla for environmentalists and the home base for the green movement is an affront to—and perversion of—nature. California is an artificially constructed paradise. The Golden State owes its golden existence largely to mammoth engineering feats representing mankind’s ingenuity and triumph over the natural realm. It’s not just Hoover Dam, that wonder of the modern world, but dozens of less famous man-made dams and lakes and reservoirs, with names like Glen Canyon and Parker and Havasu and Link River, that help reshape the landscape to provide water and power to California’s faraway population centers. The state could not sustain its giant cities or its astoundingly fertile agricultural sector without them. Today’s California, that greenest of American states, is itself testimony to man bending nature to his purpose.

NATURE, OR AT LEAST ITS SELF-STYLED advocates, is striking back. Its cudgel is the federal Endangered Species Act and supporting California statutes wielded on behalf of fish such as the tiny delta smelt. In 1993, the delta smelt was listed as threatened under the ESA. And with that designation, litigious environmental groups went to court. Filing lawsuit after lawsuit on behalf of this or that supposedly endangered quarry, they aim to dismantle the infrastructure of California’s State Water Project (SWP) and the federal Central Valley Project (CVP). Those two projects’ dams, reservoirs, canals, waterways, aqueducts, and pumps deliver the life-giving water supporting the state’s agriculture and supplying its major cities.

The greens have had some success. In 2007, U.S. district judge Oliver Wanger ruled that the pumping that annually sent about 6 million acre-feet of water to Kern County and beyond was threatening the delta smelt’s existence by disrupting water flows for the fall spawning season. Citing the protections accorded by the Endangered Species Act, he ordered pumping for agricultural uses curtailed by one-third until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could evaluate the situation. After studying the issue for more than a year, the USFWS determined last December that pumping by the SWP and CVP “was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the delta smelt and adversely modify its critical habitat.” The agency issued plans to keep Judge Wanger’s restrictions in place. According to Tulare County supervisor Allen Ishida, “California was forced to let 660,000 acrefeet of its freshwater supplies run out to the ocean. That was enough water to supply the entire Silicon Valley for two years.”

Further curbs may come, on behalf of the delta smelt as well as other species. The USFWS and the California Fish and Game Commission are moving forward with threatened and endangered designations for Chinook salmon, steelhead, and the longfin smelt, presaging further water reductions for agriculture.

The result of these irrigation pump shutdowns is that hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland are being forced out of production. Kern County authorities estimated that 145,000 of the 850,000 acres that are typically irrigated were idled or under-irrigated last year. The loss was pegged at $100 million in the county alone. A study by UC-Davis estimated San Joaquin Valley farm revenue losses to range from $482 million to $647 million. Total California agricultural economic losses could hit $3 billion this year.

But those are just abstract financial numbers. Behind those figures are real people, farmers and business owners and families who are losing livelihoods and are being forced to uproot and flee. The UC-Davis study conservatively suggested 24,000 to 32,000 Central Valley jobs were destroyed by environmental rulings designed to protect endangered wildlife. It further estimated job losses could approach 80,000 or more if restrictions intensified. Communities are withering for a government-imposed lack of water. It is little exaggeration to say that the farmers of the most valuable farming region in the nation are facing extinction.

IS THAT WHAT THE Endangered Species Act was designed to accomplish? In the 36 years since President Nixon signed the ESA into law (its chief congressional sponsors were Rep. John Dingell, D-MI, and the future Abscam crook, Sen. Harrison Williams, D-NJ), an entire federal and state government apparatus has sprung forth to provide protections to creatures like the bald eagle and the grizzly bear. More than 1,300 species of animals, fish, and plants have been designated either “endangered” or “threatened.” Certainly, there have been some preservation successes, notably with iconic animals like our national bird or Smoky the Bear’s cousins.

But while the bald eagle and the grizzly are the poster children of ESA protection, they are the exception and not the rule. Most species for whose preservation the power of government has been harnessed are ones whose loss few would mourn, or even notice. How many tears, for instance, would be shed if the rock gnome lichen disappeared, not to mention the dwarf wedgemussel or the Comal Springs dryopid beetle? Or the delta smelt? And yet court decisions and other regulatory moves are being made on behalf of these and other creatures in ways that present significant hardship for landowners. Whether depriving Central Valley farmers of contractually entitled water or placing restrictions on landowners’ use of their own properties, endangered species regulations end up hamstringing humans for the benefit of certain plants, fish, and animals that few have heard of and even fewer care about.

Sometimes such hamstringing is merely a costly irritant. Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Adler has noted, “Under the ESA, individual Americans have been prevented from building homes, plowing fields, cutting trees, clearing brush, and repairing fences—all on private land.”

In other instances, it can be tragic. According to Adler, “The federal government has even barred private landowners from clearing firebreaks to protect their homes from fire hazards.” In 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forbade residents of California’s Riverside County from clearing firebreaks around their homes for fear of disturbing the endangered Stephens’ kangaroo rat (despite the fact state authorities required them to do so as a fire protection measure). When wildfires whipped through the Southern California community, nearly two dozen homes were destroyed. The case of the Central Valley farmers is a similar—and needless—calamity.

The problem, says Tulare County’s Ishida, is not the courts or even activist judges. “The problem is the courts are being forced to base their decisions on laws that have not been amended or changed in decades. The environmentalists have skillfully used such laws as the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and the Endangered Species Act so that judges have no alternative but to order massive releases of water.”

Ishida recently told a congressional panel that since the passage of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act in 1992 (roughly the same time that the delta smelt was listed as threatened), the state of California has redirected more than 3 million acre-feet of water that used to serve cities and farms. Now that water supports fisheries and habitats. Often it just goes out to sea, completely unused for any of the many purposes for which a thirsty state is desperate to use it.

Page: 1 2 >

About the Author

Max Schulz is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (166) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Melvin| 9.11.09 @ 7:52AM

When in the hell are the sane people of this Country going to put a stop to this madness? Americans are losing their way of life, livelihoods, and freedoms to chose ,at the hands the hands of an abusive authoritarian government.

california bob| 9.11.09 @ 8:43AM

he asks: "should the fish (and others in the food chain) suffer, or should humans?" Phrased that way, there is only one answer and it is the same answer every time regardless of the circumstances. Humans should not suffer a downturn and all the species must die before any such loss occurs. Therefore, we choose ecological collapse.

Irene Flick| 9.23.09 @ 1:20AM

This is great, now Chinese cabbage will genuinely come from China. None of this phony stuff grown in California. It should be fresh enough after a week or two on a ship, right? And China has such superior environmental practices compared to the USA after all.

John Rohan | 10.11.09 @ 10:00PM

The problem with the "either or" way of thinking is that if you choose humans every time, then you eventually end up on a planet with all humans and no wild animals whatsoever. That's not the kind of world I want my children to live in.
It's unfortunate, that people are losing their farms, but the reality is that there is a limited supply of water to go around, and maybe California was supposed to be a desert in the first place. At the very least, it's a wake up call to rethink population numbers in the Western USA, and allowing about 1 million immigrants to cross the southern border every year.

TwayneA| 7.22.10 @ 3:23PM

Perhaps the water should be cutoff to SOUTHERN CALIFORNNIA?

Of course these greedy developer bastards will continue to build houses allowing MILLIONS to move despite being out of water. HELLO?

The "Green Beans" are being used to attack the food supply of America; simple as that!

These bastards have been controlling supply and demand all over the place; jobs, oil, electricity in Cal, etc. etc.

That's their best trick in their game called "Capitalism".

JP| 9.11.09 @ 8:51AM

"Humans should not suffer a downturn and all the species must die before any such loss occurs. Therefore, we choose ecological collapse."

That is something to ponder the next time you are shopping at Walmart for out of season vegtables.

2Anglico| 9.11.09 @ 8:59AM

Total insanity. Liberalism is a mental disorder.

Michael L. Hauschild| 9.11.09 @ 9:12AM

The western border of my property exists as a base flow stream, certainly polluted but distillable nonetheless. With a posthole digger, two ten-foot extensions, a rope and coffee can (I have done this) I can get potable H2O from the water table below my yard.
When the feces hits the vertical hard surface my exchange rate will be 20:1, twenty gallons of gasoline for one gallon of water.
I may go commercial on this; I have two disassembled 1930 era Air Motors in storage, complete with tower, pump jacks and original wooden hexagon push rods. (The pumps DO work because the vandals HAVE NOT stolen the handles.)
The two most valuable commodities in that barely imaginable future will be, not diamonds or flesh, but the aforementioned posthole digger and a firearm.
Footnote: Some of those water resources will be diverted to horse tanks where I will aquaculture Delta Smelt to be used as sushi snacks for the Della Cowboy Cheerleaders in the back seat of my HumVee when we are cruising.

Kurt| 9.22.09 @ 9:21PM

Cool, the pump works because the vandals didn't get the handle.

John Goldman | 6.25.11 @ 2:19AM

Why the surprise? It has been evident for years that the environmental movement is profoundly anti human being. Everytime a puma eats a camper there are more contributions for the puma cubs than support for the campers family.

Tim| 9.11.09 @ 9:35AM

On a deeper level, wasn't it government that decided decades ago that it would be a good idea to change desert to farmland? A lot of family farms in the east (abundant water, shorter growing season) were put out of business by federally subsidized water projects for the desert west.

Tim| 9.11.09 @ 9:38AM

Which is not to say that I oppose turning the water back on. It's just that it seems once Gubmint gets into the game, insanity piles up on top of insanity. Like the old lady swallowing the fly.

owyheewine| 9.11.09 @ 9:48AM

Something like 99% of all species that have existed on the earth are now extinct. Most of this happened before humans existed. The silliness of the ESA suggests that man can change the Darwinian march to eliminate less fit species.
This needs to become a metaphor for the unintended consequences resulting from the ever expanding body of legislation that seeks to extend governmental control of every aspect of, not only our lives, but also natural processes that are beyond our current understanding.

Northern Rebel| 9.11.09 @ 10:04AM

Perhaps we can elect a few Delta Smelts (is that the name of a famous female sitcom star?) to congress. They're probably smarter than most politicians, and I'm sure their IQ easily doubles that of California Bob's.

Pingback| 9.11.09 @ 10:16AM

Statist Enviro Nazi's: Save The Smelt, Kill The Farmers... - Politics and Other Contr links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…The Farmers... This is what you get when the liberal statist enviro nazi's get their way... Forget about the food supply / lives of humans, we must save the smelt.... The American Spectator : Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought City-Data Forum Message Cancel Changes Quick Reply The following errors occurred with your submission Okay Message: Posting Quick Reply - Please Wait…

Galen| 9.11.09 @ 10:38AM

Tim| 9.11.09 @ 10:55AM

99% of all species that have existed are extinct? Really?
Too bad regulations can't go extinct....

Michael L. Hauschild| 9.11.09 @ 11:47AM

Abandoning levity (maybe I never possessed any), the same aspects of environmental concern are occurring on the most water rich environment in the world, the Ogalala and Dakota Aquifers, upon their juncture I reside. Hundred year leases, irrigation contracts, inter state compacts here in the Midwest are in turmoil and those in charge are forgoing any pretense of tort reform. This is the real issue we as a nation face, not the "Global Warming" brouhaha. Water will be the next "petroleum" and I praise the Lord that I will not have to develop the hygiene regimen of Europe or the rest of the non-Asian masses. (We have a BO problem but it is not olfactory. )

DeltaResident| 9.11.09 @ 12:23PM

Perhaps the gentleman of the Manhattan Institute would prefer to drain the Hudson River to enable irrigation farming of the plains of New Jersey. How about farming where there is abundant water and good soil, and not just cheap illegal alien labor? We live here on the Delta, and are not legally allowed to use the water flowing in our backyard. This issue is more complicated that the smelt, and it stinks just as bad.

Dave| 9.11.09 @ 12:26PM

I have to mention one other large enviromental hypocrisy that is going on in the delta. The pollution in the form of partially treated sewage and pesticides coming from cities around the delta. Also many invasive and non-native species living in the delta. Is anything being done about these other health effects for the delta? Mostly No. They just want the water to go to the ocean. I beleive so they can use other peoples water to flush out the pollution out of the delta.

Commercial Pilot | 6.25.11 @ 2:20AM

The problem with our regulatory systems is one of checks and balances as well as accountability. The ability for any government agency to regulate anything comes ultimately from Congress; not the Excutive; and most certainly not the Courts.

TennesseeVolunteer| 9.11.09 @ 2:11PM

My brother in law is a geological engineer in Wyoming. two of his natural gas wells have been closed for 6 months per year for the Grouse mating season. I asked him if the wells impeded the grouse and he said "Hell no", they gravitate to the wells!
He says this is happening all over the West for oil and natural gas. and, oh by the way, now investment for new wells is way down because investors don't want to take the chance of having their investment shut down for 6 months a year.
THIS IS A SYSTEMATIC STRATEGY OF THE EPA TO STIFLE DRILLING AND ENERGY PRODUCTION IN THE US!
When do wake up to the liberal strategy to shut us down busing environmental law?
Look for news about the fact that protected herds of wild horses are being placed where the largest shale oil deposits are in the West. They are throttling our ability to produce our own energy unless it uses their type of energy (wind and solar) which anyone that has studied it ...knows that they cannot replace our coal and natural gas. It is time we wake up.

JP| 9.11.09 @ 3:44PM

It is a congressional act such as the Clean Air Act the established the EPA and its regulatory infrastructure. It is also Congress that infused the EPA with the legal armour to regulate things like fossil fuel emissions that are poisonous to humans.

When the courts through its diktats ordered the EPA to begin regulating CO2 as a poisonous gas, it not only circumvented Congress, but common sense as well. There is no recourse to the law now (that is, unless one petitions the courts; however, in this case it is Congress and not the courts that are empowered to write laws).

All of these enviormental issues seem to be tied directly to judges who have taken upon themselves to not only decide policy, but to write it.

Richard Smith| 9.11.09 @ 4:10PM

You people are so removed from the natural world, you think it was made for us to do what we will, because you "own" it. Clueless. The ecological downfall will be because of your short sightedness.

Die Fledermaus| 9.11.09 @ 5:20PM

Gee Richard, that's quite an accusation coming from someone sitting behind a computer using electricity. Why didn't you save the ecology and write a letter with charcoal on tree bark and have a carrier pigeon send it to the editors?

Richard Baker| 9.11.09 @ 5:40PM

Smith:
You clowns have been saying for over 100 years that the end is near. It ain't coming. Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way. Leave the rest of us alone and go sulk on your enviro-communes.

Curtis| 9.11.09 @ 5:58PM

The problem with environmentalists, ecologists, biologists, and archeologists, is that they set out to teach me, and I listened.

I learned that Evolution is an ongoing process that allows animals to change to thier environment. Whether that be hurricanes, ice ages, meteors, or mankind drilling holes in the ground.

I've learned that nature has a robust system in place for adapting to changes and rewarding successs. I've also learned that failures are not tolerated.

I've learned that the earth is a dynamic place, marked by meteor strikes, moving continents, shifting deserts, and roaming ice shelves.

I've learned that extinction is just as much a product of evolution as adaptation.

I've learned that change is inevitable. All of these things happened and continue to happen, oblivious to mans presence. But you, you're the one who's convinced that its all mans fault if the clouds are not to your liking, and if a species blinks out of existence.

robert turley| 9.11.09 @ 7:20PM

what we must all remember is that millions of years ago that smelt crawled out of the water.Grew a backbone and the human evolution chain started .
you will never stop evolution ,be it man or animal made.

Richard Baker| 9.11.09 @ 7:32PM

Entropy says that everything goes from a higher order to a lower order. Can you get iron from rust? Evolution is a fraud.

Pingback| 9.11.09 @ 8:09PM

Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…page http://bit.ly/3HgQ9w info http://bit.ly/11bpuP info http://bit.ly/YPJ8k info http://bit.ly/rhvvw info http://bit.ly/Dly7r info 1 Show more 6 tweets Tweet The American Spectator : Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought spectator.org/archives/2009/09/11/emptying-reservoirs-in-the-mid – view page – cached ANYONE DOUBTING THAT OUR nation's environmental and economic policies…

Obie Wan| 9.11.09 @ 8:12PM

Well for every issue there's two ways,the right way or the liberal way. I've been around a while now and I've yet to see the liberal way work for anything unless failure is your goal !!!

Let's eat| 9.11.09 @ 9:46PM

I'd like to invite ya'll over for a delta smelt fish fry!

Ted| 9.11.09 @ 11:11PM

As to the Delta smelt not faring so well after the imposition of ESA regulations, could it be the case of unintended consequences? Perhaps a landowner who finds the delta smelt on his land and faced with the prospect of burdensome regulation would want to kill off all of the fishes prior to their discovery by an overzealous regulator. It's just a thought.

stacey reiner | 9.11.09 @ 11:20PM

Yes ,definetly,with a posthole digger Bailey Button Ugg Boots , two ten-foot extensions, a rope and coffee can (I have done this) I can get potable H2O from the water table below my yard.
When the feces hits the vertical hard surface my exchange rate will be 20:1, twenty gallons of gasoline for one gallon of water.I may go commercial on this; I have two disassembled 1930 era Air Motors in storage cheap ugg boots , complete with tower, pump jacks and original wooden hexagon push rods.

vsdf| 5.10.10 @ 5:29AM

M2TS Converter,
M2TS to MOV Converter

brandon parker | 9.11.09 @ 11:23PM

Whatever geological engineer in Wyoming ugg boots uk . two of his natural gas wells have been closed for 6 months per year for the Grouse mating season. I asked him if the wells impeded the grouse and he said "Hell no", they gravitate to the wells!He says this is happening all over the West for oil and natural gas. and cheap ugg boots , oh by the way, now investment for new wells is way down because investors don't want to take the chance of having their investment shut down for 6 months a year.

p.harris| 9.12.09 @ 2:00AM

The solution is to research how many species of wildlife and wild plants are dying from this man made drought, I am sure if someone can prove a dung beetle has died from letting the water just go out to sea film it dying in slo-mo with dramatic music, an ad campaign and news coverage of it's plight it will save the agi. What in the heck is wrong with these people? Can't farm, fresh water being diverted right out to sea, can't drill our own oil, etc.. because big daddy government is going to think for us and the dung beetle too, it knows best. We just all need to cooperate a little more and shut up and drink our koolaide.

Pingback| 9.12.09 @ 3:15AM

The American Spectator : Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a … | H2O Report links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…and I praise the Lord that I will not have to develop the hygiene regimen of Europe or the rest of the non-Asian masses. Here is the original post: The American Spectator : Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a … american, central, central-valley, congress, courts, endangered, global-warming, home, middle, money-business, new-articles, project, september-2009, water This post was…

ExZonie| 9.12.09 @ 4:03AM

This species "collapse" argument is specious. The Central Valley was at one time (hundreds/thousands of years ago) a huge inland sea. There was no Delta, no rivers... nothing but a huge body of fresh water fed by the snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada.

During that time (if you believe in evolution), smelt, salmon, steelheads, longfin tuna, killer whales etc. all managed to evolve just fine, thank you, without the Delta and its tributaries flowing anywhere.

The earth ages, the species adapt or die out.

It also doesn't help that Sacramento, Martinez and Stockton dump millions of gallons of barely-treated sewage directly into the Delta. That water is then pumped to Los Angeles for the Angelinos to drink... ewwwwww!

D Jones| 9.12.09 @ 9:36AM

I lived in California the vast majority of my life and could only watch as this kind of liberal insanity overwhelmed any common sense in the state. Seems like everything the liberal politicians, including most of the Republicans, have been cooking up in Sacramento is coming to a boil all at once this year: punitive taxing has caused more and more people to move away; wasteful spending, despite having the highest tax rates in the nation on most things, has left the state coffers empty; environmental mismanagement has left vast areas ripe for burning and drought.

Maybe it's time to just give the state back to Mexico...they can have Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger, too...we'll keep Tom McClintock, though...he's one of the only politicians from the Tarnished State that makes any sense anymore.

jr| 9.12.09 @ 5:04PM

The states north of Kalifornia should dam up the water, including the aqueducts, and allow the Golden state to become a desert. They can then feast on the rattlers and lizards. When will that big earthquake split them off so they can become the Independent Country of Socialism and quit stinking up the rest of the US?

Richard Baker| 9.12.09 @ 7:28PM

jr:
Soon, hopefully.

Pingback| 9.13.09 @ 9:44AM

Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought « Observations links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought The only problem with the idea of drought driving California’s misery is that it is largely a fiction. There has been very mild drought in recent years, but not enough to account for the current massive cuts in water to Central Valley farmers. This spring, the state’s Department of Water Resources revealed that the mountain snowpack feeding California reservoirs was at 80 per

red| 9.14.09 @ 6:10PM

I’m so glad I found this. I have become so much smarter by reading all the wisdom put down here in these comments e.g., evolution is a fraud because iron rusts; California’s water comes from aqueducts from “states north”; the Central Valley was an inland sea until “hundreds/thousands” of years ago; government is placing restrictions on agribusiness use of water that government provided in the first place and that’s really unfair; some water is still being allowed to “flow out to sea” and that’s unacceptable when we could be diverting the last drop too; we need to “wake up” and get the wild horses off the shale oil deposits.

Now that I learned all this stuff I can go tell the enviro-dummies how clueless they are.

Pingback| 9.17.09 @ 11:11PM

delta smelt – æµ·è¿å¥³ links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…doesn't eat crops. No, it doesn't carry any known transmittable diseases. So why is it a scourge, you ask? … Commentarama – http://commentarama.blogspot.com/ ||| Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought Its cudgel is the federal Endangered Species Act and supporting California statutes wielded on behalf of fish such as the tiny delta smelt. In 1993, the delta smelt was listed as…

Pingback| 9.18.09 @ 5:08AM

Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought | Images and all!! links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…\n Hello, I’m Mark Levin.\n \n The far left hates Spectator.org.\n That’s why I love reading it.\n Help spread their message.\n \n CLICK HERE and\n Donate\n Read more at http://spectator.org/archives/2009/09/11/emptying-reservoirs-in-the-mid The water shortage on the Valley’s west side got thrust into the national spotlight Thursday as conservative commentator Sean Hannity broadcast his Fox News…

Pingback| 9.18.09 @ 10:39AM

delta smelt links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Smelt fish. Congressman George Radanovich (CA-19) noted that “the draconian regulations that turn simple … merriemarie’s clog – http://merriemarie.amplify.com/ ||| Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought Its cudgel is the federal Endangered Species Act and supporting California statutes wielded on behalf of fish such as the tiny delta smelt. In 1993, the delta smelt was listed as…

Nuno Furtado | 9.19.09 @ 7:11PM

I toured the fields of California. It is unbelievable what congress has done to these people. We must get the water back on NOW! Thank you for the great article. I have saved this site to my fav's.

http://www.pokeandnudge.com

Pingback| 9.22.09 @ 10:53PM

Michelle Malkin » Cali’s man-caused drought: Senate rejects water restoration effort; links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…2009 10:53 PM Last week, FNC’s Sean Hannity traveled to the San Joaquin Valley to report on the man-made drought that’s wreaking havoc on farmers in the name of saving the Delta smelt: Max Schulz has an excellent piece in this month’s issue of the American Spectator on the crisis — and the MSM’s unwillingness to confront it: As California farmers lose their jobs by the tens…

Pingback| 9.22.09 @ 11:26PM

Random Thoughts » As California farmers lose their jobs by the tens of thousands to p links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…fish From Michelle Malkin: Last week, FNC’s Sean Hannity traveled to the San Joaquin Valley to report on the man-made drought that’s wreaking havoc on farmers in the name of saving the Delta smelt: Max Schulz has an excellent piece in this month’s issue of the American Spectator on the crisis — and the MSM’s unwillingness to confront it: As California farmers lose their jobs by the tens of thousands to…

Pingback| 9.23.09 @ 2:46AM

GayPatriot » Boxer Votes to Prevent California Farmers from Working links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…in the Golden State, Max Schulz gives a brief background on how massive irrigation projects helped transform the desert of the San Joaquin Valley “ into a paradise, providing much of the fruits and vegetables and dairy products Americans consume. ” Today, with the help of the entire Democratic caucus of the United States Senate, including the two senators from California, environmentalists…

Pingback| 9.23.09 @ 9:32AM

Delta Smelt links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…in the Golden State, Max Schulz gives a brief background on how massive irrigation projects helped transform the desert of the San Joaquin Valley into a paradise, providing much of the fruits and vegetables and dairy products Americans consume. Today, with the help of the entire Democratic caucus of the United States Senate, including the two senators from California, environmentalists may well…

Pingback| 9.23.09 @ 10:00AM

Moe Lane » This fish cost California almost a billion dollars. links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…monitor, the picture (via Michelle Malkin ) may be the actual size: That’s the delta smelt – or, as Rep. George Radanovich (R, CA-19) likes to call it, “ a worthless little worm that needs to go the way of the dinosaur ” – and it’s the reason why direct farm losses in California’s San Joaquin valley are being estimated at a high of 647 million (against a backdrop…

Pingback| 9.23.09 @ 10:03AM

This fish cost California almost a billion dollars. - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…on your monitor, the picture (via Michelle Malkin ) may be the actual size: That’s the delta smelt - or, as Rep. George Radanovich (R, CA-19) likes to call it, “ a worthless little worm that needs to go the way of the dinosaur ” - and it’s the reason why direct farm losses in California’s San Joaquin valley are being estimated at a high of 647 million (against a backdrop of a 3…

Pingback| 9.23.09 @ 10:04AM

This fish cost California almost a billion dollars. - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…on your monitor, the picture (via Michelle Malkin ) may be the actual size: That’s the delta smelt - or, as Rep. George Radanovich (R, CA-19) likes to call it, “ a worthless little worm that needs to go the way of the dinosaur ” - and it’s the reason why direct farm losses in California’s San Joaquin valley are being estimated at a high of 647 million (against a backdrop of a 3…

Steve In Tulsa| 9.23.09 @ 2:19PM

This is what happens when liberals run things. The state has a twenty billion dollar deficit on their loan payments so they raise expenditures and taxes driving business out of state and then they shut down the water so the farmers are forced out of business and the state loses more revenue. And now Oklahoma citizens have to pay for the pensions of ex school teachers in California who get more than $100,000 a year. Hell teachers here don't earn half that. California is a great example of what liberal policies do to a state: Liberals on destroy things. They have made nothing and saved no one. But they sure do like congratulating themselves after they screw every thing up.

Chris| 9.23.09 @ 10:05PM

When are the Mexican laborers going to stop automatically voting for the Democrat/Socialist party? There is a reason they left Socialist Mexico. Now where can one go to escape Socialism? Delta Smelt can die-off I do not care!

Pingback| 9.27.09 @ 3:02AM

TURN ON THE DAMN WATER, DEMOCRATS « Snark And Boobs links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Man up and deal. On the 22nd of September, the Democrats killed Senator DeMint’s Amendment that would have turned the water back on for California farmers (and the hundreds of thousands of jobs they supply) by a vote of 61 to 36. The Democrats were joined by three of the usual Republican suspects, Snowe, Collins and Alexander. IN A RECESSION. What, not enough people on food…

Pingback| 9.27.09 @ 1:56PM

TURN ON THE DARN WATER, DEMOCRATS - snarkandboobs’s Diary - RedState links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Man up and deal. On the 22nd of September, the Democrats killed Senator DeMint’s Amendment that would have turned the water back on for California farmers (and the hundreds of thousands of jobs they supply) by a vote of 61 to 36. The Democrats were joined by three of the usual Republican suspects, Snowe, Collins and Alexander. IN A RECESSION. What, not enough people on food…

Pingback| 9.27.09 @ 1:56PM

TURN ON THE DARN WATER, DEMOCRATS - snarkandboobs’s Diary - RedState links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Man up and deal. On the 22nd of September, the Democrats killed Senator DeMint’s Amendment that would have turned the water back on for California farmers (and the hundreds of thousands of jobs they supply) by a vote of 61 to 36. The Democrats were joined by three of the usual Republican suspects, Snowe, Collins and Alexander. IN A RECESSION. What, not enough people on food…

Pingback| 9.28.09 @ 6:29AM

Is the Delta Smelt a Red Herring in Disguise? :: The 912 Project Fan Site links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…and fishing groups that sued to protect a tiny fish, the delta smelt.” One of the tightest, precise details of the effect of no water on the California Central Valley: Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought “ANYONE DOUBTING THAT OUR nation’s environmental and economic policies can get seriously out of whack from time to time need only look to the Sacramento-San Joaquin…

Pingback| 10.10.09 @ 11:48AM

October 10 roundup links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…“Religious group sued for allegedly inciting harm through prayers” [ USA Today ] Legally driven waste of water in parched California should reopen Endangered Species Act debate [ Max Schulz, American Spectator ] “More Unintended Consequences — Endangered Species Edition” [ Ronald Bailey, Reason ; related AEI panel ] “Apple v Woolworth re Apple Logos In Australia” […

Nicole Thompsen| 12.17.09 @ 9:07PM

Today Pandora bracelet watches are the hottest selling watches in the bracelet category. People buy these for themselves and also to gift it to others.The average cost of a Pandora watch (depending on model) ranges from $3500 to $25000 and there are different models with varied features. These people know that the Pandora bracelet bracelet watches will give them the best time they can expect. In today�s competitive market companies has to understand the limitation of the customer in terms of purchasing power.In 1931, Pandora again made waves with the introduction of the Pandora Rotor, a watch that was kept wound by gravity, so that its owner always had a perfectly wound [url=http://www.cpebv.com]pandora bracelets[/url], never needing to worry about remembering to wind it. And to identify the Pandora bracelet, look for the rough shell and fuzzy words. Whether it is the unique feature of Pandora GMT master watches that tells time of two zones at the same time, or it is the scratch protection facility of Pandora Daytona, Every features you will get in the Pandora bracelet watches. Pandora Watches-Online. Yes, you don�t need to put a hole in your wallet to buy a genuine Pandora. But it is so normal to want to have the best appearance for you.Actually, Pandora claims that their losses due to the bracelet [url=http://www.penraker.com]pandora charms[/url] market reach millions of dollars per year. The die-hard Pandora fans can wait for a year or so to get a particular Pandora watch. You would find a lot of similarities between these two [url=http://www.penraker.com]pandora bracelet[/url] jewelry.

sss| 3.3.10 @ 3:17PM

Free Downloads Sotware - Free Downloads Sotware New Software Free Downloads Sotware

autos | 3.12.10 @ 12:53AM

This is quite troubling.
auto

Pingback| 3.18.10 @ 7:34PM

Obama the Messiah? Try Moses in the Desert: CA Congressmen Enticed With Water Provisi links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

… Fish! Dead and Dying–California’s Central Valley Dust Bowl Those who want to know the latest outrage on the Central Valley water front, check this story from the American Spectator: Emptying Reservoirs in the Middle of a Drought By Max Schulz ANYONE DOUBTING THAT OUR nation’s environmental and economic policies can get seriously out of whack from time to time need only look to the Sacramento-San…

potro| 4.22.10 @ 1:52AM

ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010Winning is without value if victory has been achieved ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010 or dishonestly. Cheating is easy, but brings no pleasure. Playing ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010 requires courage and character. It is also more satisfying. ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010
always has its reward, even when the game is lost. Playing fair earns you respect, while cheats are detested. Remember: It's only a game. And games are pointless unless played ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010

I’ll have a Poptropica full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You

You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. He will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out. When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. PoptropicaWhen all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. Poptropica I’ll have a Poptropica full written walkthrough very soon, but in the meantime, here are some answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Mythology Island. Having trouble? Post a question in the comments and I’ll try to answer it!
Getting Hercules to Help You

Both FIFA and UEFA have awards which they hand out to individuals or groups of people who have promoted what they see as the spirit of ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010
, both within and outside of football. An example of this was the Italian player Paolo Di Canio who, while not given an award, was congratulated by many sections of the football world for a generous display of ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010
. Despite having a goal scoring opportunity while playing for West Ham United against Everton, when Di Canio saw the Everton goalkeeper had picked up an injury, instead of scoring what could have been the easiest goal of his career, he caught the ball, thus stopping ArenaBetting.com dukung fair play FIFA world cup AFSEL 2010
and allowing the goalkeeper to receive treatment

Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. PoptropicaZeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
Getting the Hydra Scale Poptropica

You can see how to do this in the videos, but basically you need to jump up when the Hydra is about to strike. PoptropicaHe will rear one of his heads back to attack and his eyes will bulge out. When this happens, jump up in the air and then try to land on top of his head. That head will get knocked out. When all five heads get knocked out, the Hydra will be asleep and you can click on him to get one of the scales. Poptropica

Humans Above All| 6.13.10 @ 5:03PM

Yes, let's use every drop of water to support farming in the desert. We don't need those silly ecosystems- what we need is more and more humans! Besides, which would you rather have, a planet entirely devoted to us or a planet rich in diversity? It's a no-brainer all right.

اعمال يدويه | 4.23.11 @ 11:01PM

thank ypu

yanyan | 10.10.11 @ 12:46PM

mesothelioma attorneyThis is a great blog with excellent posts and links.
Thanks for sharing.

balcuizar62| 10.12.11 @ 9:36PM

And I will definitely be waiting for more such nice posts like this one from you.
yaz lawsuit

L Tod Schlosser | 11.4.11 @ 12:46PM

Good read. There is currently quite a lot of information around this subject on the net and some are most defintely better than others. You have caught the detail here just right which makes for a refreshing change – thanks.
L Tod Schlosser

fiance visa| 10.17.11 @ 9:49PM

I am happy to find this post very useful for me, as it contains lot of information. I always prefer to read the quality content and this thing I found in you post. Thanks for sharing.

fiance visa

creamer| 10.19.11 @ 9:22PM

Please, continue to post interesting articles. Many thanks for your work! Regards,
Actos Lawsuits

yaz class action | 10.22.11 @ 3:28PM

Thank you for reading. Please consider making a contribution.
PLEASE GIVE IDEA OF THE ABOVE TOPIC. THANKS

yanyan| 10.20.11 @ 8:37PM

The topic that your blog deals with demands loads of research.This kind of blog always useful for blog readers.

Actos side effects

Elisa| 10.20.11 @ 8:38PM

The topic that your blog deals with demands loads of research.This kind of blog always useful for blog readers.
Actos side effects

rechie | 10.24.11 @ 9:40AM

please share some idea regarding the above issue. thanks!

devourment| 11.4.11 @ 2:21PM

hey its useful information, I read this whole and carefully. This article covers the all required thing. I can say that you did your best

L Tod Schlosser

PIERCE| 11.8.11 @ 3:14AM

To be sure with preceding poster, is very much like you will do properly out right here within the world-wide-web.
filipina girls

chester| 11.11.11 @ 2:01AM

Your views are certainly interesting and they give me much to think about.Thank you for this post because it gave me so much great information.

zoloft lawsuit

cosmin| 1.9.12 @ 9:31AM

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. bratari

Latest Headlines

Green Flags, Yellow Flags, and Black Flags

John Tabin|50 comments

Barack’s Brave New World Blarney

George Neumayr|45 comments

There’s Something About Cambridge

Daniel J. Flynn|27 comments

Obama’s Unaffordable Act

Peter Ferrara|63 comments

Celebrating Our Lady of Paris

Joseph A. Harriss|9 comments

Charter Schooling? Why Not Charter Housing?

Wayne Woodman|16 comments

Cash for Organs?

Eric Boehm|19 comments

Back in the Fray

Kyle Peterson|102 comments

The Spectacle Blog

CBO Gives Ammunition to Immigration Reform Supporters

Jordan Gonzalez | 5:28PM

Obama Addresses Nuclear Reduction, Climate Change

Claire Healey | 5:07PM

Elbert Guillory: ‘Why I Am a Republican’

Patrick Ryan | 10:13AM

The One Party State

F.H. Buckley | 9:47AM

Cummings Accused of Subverting IRS Investigation

Jeffrey Lord | 6:20AM

Let Pitchers Throw Complete Games

Aaron Goldstein | 12:10AM

Thoughts on New U.S.-Taliban Peace Talks

Aaron Goldstein | 6.18.13

Thank You, Bobby Jindal

Matt Purple | 6.18.13

FLASHBACK TO: 1995

Pope Culture

By George Sim Johnston

A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck

By P.J. O'Rourke

Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
Dames at Sea

By John Corry
In the Absence of Guns

By Mark Steyn

In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
The Metaphysical Martini

By Werner J. Dannhauser
Counting the Costs of Clintonism

By Robert H. Bork

The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
Chuck McHagel

By George Neumayr

It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted

By Douglas Bartholomew
It’s the Best Time of the Year

By Mark Steyn

The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
The Bush Crack-Up

By Brit Hume

Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?