California drought: Downpours fall far short of ending crisis [San Francisco Chronicle]
Snow
surveyors are expected to tromp out into the Sierra powder Tuesday under a
soft, steady patter of comforting precipitation, but the spring moisture is a
cruel oasis in California's desert of drought, according to leading climate and
weather gurus. The pounding rain along the coast and fluffy snow in the
mountains this week won't come close to solving the state's mounting water
crisis, which has forced the state to turn off the spigot in many communities,
a scenario that experts say is threatening farms, fish and homeowners…. The
averages will likely change as snow continues to fall this week and surveyors
take measurements. Still, water department officials do not expect the water
content to go much above a third of normal for this time of year. "The first
significant precipitation in weeks likely will be too little and too late to
have much impact on this year's severe drought," a department news release
stated.
Commentary: California's
groundwater needs better protection [San Francisco Chronicle]
California
faces a new set of challenges, including aging water infrastructure, more
extreme droughts and floods, declining ecosystems and increasing demand. In
addition, many groundwater basins throughout California are contaminated and
overdrawn. Eighty-five percent of Californians rely on groundwater, but water
levels are dropping at alarming rates. These groundwater supplies, the
equivalent of water savings accounts, are essential for drought protection but
today are in jeopardy….Groundwater, when properly managed, can provide the most
effective buffer against drought. In wet years, as we had in 2006 and 2011,
water could be stored in groundwater banks for use during dry times. To make
this work, we must empower local water managers with the authority necessary to
sustainably manage groundwater basins and protect stored water. No one wants to
invest in groundwater storage if rules aren't in place to keep someone from
taking more than their fair share.
Editorial: New reservoir still
looks stagnant [Chico Enterprise-Record]
On
a warm spring day 13 years ago, three Enterprise-Record journalists took a tour
of bucolic Antelope Valley, west of Maxwell, where top state water officials
talked about building a reservoir. They said they were getting ready to start
feasibility studies and get moving on the project….Thirteen years, and
absolutely nothing has changed….While we appreciate two congressmen from
different political parties — Republican Doug LaMalfa and Democrat John
Garamendi — throwing their considerable influence behind such an effort, it
doesn't break any decades-long logjams. Nothing has been approved, and the
question over who will pay for the reservoir is still as much in
question
as it was 13 years ago.
China
Milk Thirst Hands U.S. Dairies Record 2014 Profits [Bloomberg]
In
a year when most American farmers can expect lower earnings than in 2013, U.S.
milk producers are having a windfall. Prices have never been higher, feed costs
are down, and output is headed for an all-time high as exports surge to buyers
from Mexico to China….Global economic growth is expanding the middle class from
Asia to South America, boosting demand for dairy products including cheese and
processed foods containing milk….Production unexpectedly rose in California,
where drought conditions have led to water shortages and higher feed costs as
pastures dried up….The dry conditions have been ideal for cows, helping the
seasonal “spring flush” begin sooner than usual, according to Tom Barcellos, a
dairy farmer in Porterville, California, with 1,300 cows.
Group
plans to sue BLM over species protection [Palm Springs
Desert Sun]
Environmental
groups have notified the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that they plan to file
a lawsuit over what they call a failure to adequately protect desert tortoises
and other threatened species in the California desert. The Center for
Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility and Desert Survivors sent two letters to federal agencies on
Monday, accusing the BLM of violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to
submit annual reports about impacts to tortoises and other species from
off-road vehicles and cattle grazing. The groups said the BLM is supposed to
provide those reports to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for conservation
areas in the Mojave and Colorado deserts, but hasn’t submitted the reports for
the past seven years.
Protests
rise as Santa Maria refuses to halt immigrant center [Los Angeles Times]
Community
activists pledged Monday to continue fighting the construction of an immigrant
processing center on the Central Coast, despite a bitterly contested vote in
which a local city council advanced the project in the face of fervent public
opposition….The proposal, however, has roiled Santa Maria, where immigrant
labor is central to the economy and where three-quarters of the population is
Latino. Activists have said the development would create a culture of fear, and
the proposal has been countered with unusually large protests.
Ag
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