Water supply
Story
From Bloomberg Businessweek - Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012
Coalition response...This study has several glaring weaknesses in its attempt to define the
value of California water. The most glaring is its failure to include the
largest share of California's water footprint...water that is dedicated for
environmental purposes. This segment of water accounts for 48% of California's
total developed water supply. Instead, the report only focuses on the 41% of
water that is used to grow food and the remaining 11% that goes to homes and
businesses.
Another major weakness is the
attempt to place a dollar-and-cent value on the water used in our state without
considering the social value. The study repeatedly singles out the water used
to produce livestock feed. Consumer choices include meat and dairy
products that most people find a valuable part of a balanced diet. It takes
feed like alfalfa, hay and corn to produce meat, ice cream and cheese. These
same consumers benefit from the California-grown farm products by paying less
at the grocery store than their counterparts in 28 other high-income countries.
Americans pay just 6.2% of their disposable income on food and non-alcoholic
beverages each year. Those in other high-income countries pay 10.2%, which at
the same rate would cost Americans $3,820 more each year (in 2010 dollars) to
feed their families (http://www.farmwater.org/foodcoststudy.pdf ).
Also absent in the study are
those additional values derived from water used on California farms. Jobs are
provided for millions of employees both on the farm and through marketing
channels, such as trucking, processing, service and export terminal jobs, with
a total economic impact of $112 billion, according to the UC Davis Ag Issues
Center. Don't forget that taxes are also generated from these farms that help
support local schools and other government activities.
California is the seventh largest
economy in the world and any effort designed to shift water use based on
economic value is misleading. After all, most Californians would agree that the
availability of fresh California-grown fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy
products far outweigh the taste and nutrition of a "high-value"
product such as a shoe or a computer. Readers of this report should realize the
value they currently have from the food and fiber grown on our farms and not be
fooled into comparing food with other consumer products.
Groundwater
Blog
By Steve Shimek
From The Huffington Post - Monday, Dec. 10, 2012
Coalition response...A joint effort by stakeholders in 2004 resulted in the establishment of
50 monitoring stations along the Central Coast to gather information regarding
groundwater. Some locations remain a concern and others have shown marked
improvement in the years since the monitoring commenced. Some groups, such as
The Otter Project, were a part of this effort in the beginning but rejected the
results that proved farmers are working to protect groundwater.
Claims that sea otters have died
and attempts to connect them to agricultural fertilizers are void of any
scientific assessment. It is unfortunate that individuals are allowed to make
statements that serve no purpose other than to inflame emotions.
Individuals who are sincerely
interested in the Central Coast Water Board's efforts to establish a
groundwater monitoring program should closely look at the ongoing efforts of
local farmers. During the past 10-20 years farmers have improved their
management practices that have resulted in less fertilizers and sprays applied
to their fields. The result has been a healthy food supply for all of us.
Central Coast farmers proposed a
program for the Conditional Ag Order that incentivized farmers to adopt new
techniques and adopt improvements on their farms, along with an audit and
verification process for each farm during the term of the Order. This proposal
was summarily dismissed in favor of an onerous regulation that does nothing
more than require monitoring and reporting, with no incentives for future
investments.
WATER SUPPLY
Blog
By John Fleck
From Inkstain - Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012
Blog
By David Guy
From Water-Food-Environment - Monday, Dec. 10, 2012
(This column was previously
published in the LA Times.)
Column
By George Skleton
From Modesto Bee - Monday, Dec. 10, 2012
DELTA
Story
From Bilingual Weekly - Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012
Story
From SF Chronicle - Monday, Dec. 10, 2012
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