Water shortage in California has an effect here
While I agree with your assessment of too much rain is better than not enough (Our View, April 23), our water problem is not man-made while that of California is.
A report from Bonner Cowen, Sr. Fellow for research with the Center for Public Policy Research has stated that the water which is needed in California for agriculture and for drinking water has been re-routed into the (Sacramento-San Joaquin River) Delta. The reason the water was diverted was because a small fish known as the Delta smelt was going to become extinct if the water was not diverted. The ironic part of the whole fallacy is that the smelt was going extinct anyway. The state has only been able to find one. Yes, I said ONE delta smelt. Further, California has policies in place which keep desalinization plants impossible due to their stringent pollution policies. This report was aired on Fox News but was not found worthy of coverage by the mainstream media.
This whole fiasco has cost consumers (you and me) $1.5 billion due to increased cost of food at the grocery store and has put farmers in California at risk of losing their livelihood. We all need to contact our senators and talk to them about the situation and what can be done about it before the problem turns California into a dust bowl. This will not only effect California, but every person who buys food. This is another example of the law going terribly wrong.
Please give this your immediate attention.
Harriet Vaughn
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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