Supervisors to weigh more Paso groundwater basin changes [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
County
supervisors will hold a daylong hearing Tuesday to update efforts to stabilize
the Paso Robles groundwater basin, including possibly extending a vineyard
planting moratorium to two years. The hearing over the complex and
controversial issue is expected to take six hours. Supervisors are expected to
set criteria for offsetting new water demand and to allow some vineyard owners
to complete planting, and adjust county codes to reduce water demand in the
basin. However, the most contentious item will be extending an emergency
ordinance that bans the planting of new vineyards without offsetting the water
they will use. Extending the ordinance will require a unanimous vote of the
four supervisors.
Busting
myths about water shortage [San Diego Union-Tribune]
The
Colorado River Basin has a problem: the ongoing drought that began in 2000 is
one of the worst in a thousand years. While demand for water continues to grow,
climate change is causing supplies to dwindle. We need to take aggressive steps
now toward solving this imbalance and protecting the vibrant economy of the
Southwest.…In order to have a productive discussion about our water future, we
must shoot down some stubborn myths about the solutions to water
shortages:…Myth 3 — Water is too valuable to use on farms. Although about 80
percent of Colorado River water goes to agriculture, we would be unwise to
assume that we can address shortages solely by removing irrigation water from
farms. Retiring too much farmland will harm our economy in the Southwest, our
food security and our quality of life. Further improving efficiency, judicious
switching to less-thirsty crops, and using science to grow more with less water
will be essential, but we must be careful not to destabilize rural economies that
are the foundation of the basin.
Rally
calls for change [Santa Maria Times]
Omar
Hernandez was raised in Santa Maria.…Yarley Corona attended the same Santa
Maria schools and in June graduated from Cal Poly with a bachelor’s degree in
agricultural business….They are two faces the Strawberry Commission put on its
call for national immigration reform at a rally Thursday in Santa Maria.…The
student and recent graduate were two of a bevy of officials to lend their
stories to the call for immigration reform.…All signed a petition sponsored by
the Strawberry Commission and addressed to Congresswoman Lois Capps and U.S.
senators Harry Reid, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell. The
Strawberry Commission intends to present the petition to Congress and push for
passage of a reform bill before its holiday recess.
Senate
seeks to reverse law on engineered crops [Associated Press]
The
Senate is seeking to reverse a controversial law that allows farmers to harvest
genetically modified crops even when the crops are caught up in legal battles.
The law, passed as part of a spending bill earlier this year, has become a
flashpoint in the national debate over genetically engineered foods. It would
expire at the end of the federal budget year next week, and a temporary
spending bill passed by the House would extend it. But Senate Democrats'
spending bill would let it expire. The narrow provision only applies to
genetically modified crops that are under litigation. It allows the agriculture
secretary to grant permits for farmers to continue to grow engineered crops
while appeals are pending, even if courts have ruled that the Department of
Agriculture shouldn't have approved them.
Little-Used
charges employed in listeria outbreak [Associated Press]
It
took two years for federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against the
owners of a southeastern Colorado cantaloupe farm linked to a 2011 listeria
epidemic that killed 33 people. And the charges are little-used misdemeanor
counts of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.…Asked why the
Jensens were charged when few food-poisoning cases end up in criminal court,
Dorschner said prosecutors in this case were compelled to act because the
outbreak was so serious and widespread….Only four other people have faced
criminal charges in food poisoning cases in the U.S. in the past decade, said
William Marler, who represents many of the listeria victims in civil cases
against Jensen Farms. Marler noted felony charges would have required
prosecutors to show the contamination was intentional. "The real
significance of the case against the Jensens is they are being charged with
misdemeanors, which do not require intent, just the fact that they shipped
contaminated food using interstate commerce," he said.
Report
says popular solar 'net metering' policy will cost California's non-solar
customers $1.1 billion a year by 2020 [San Jose Mercury News]
A
long-awaited analysis of "net metering," the policy that allows
homeowners, school districts and businesses to offset the cost of their
electric use with the rooftop solar power they generate and export to the grid,
finds the policy will cost California's nonsolar customers $1.1 billion a year
by 2020. The lengthy "California Net Energy Metering Evaluation,"
released Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission, will strongly
influence discussions among state regulators about how to restructure electric
rates. The solar industry is already crying foul, saying the study design was
stacked against solar. Others say it's time for net metering to be overhauled.
Ag
Today is distributed by the CFBF Communications/News Division to county Farm
Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes; stories may
not be republished without permission. Some story links may require site
registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this
message and please provide your name and e-mail address. For more
information about Ag Today, contact 916-561-5550 or news@cfbf.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment