Dust Bowls

The past 2 days I've been driving from LA to Vancouver with my new camper van and I kept seeing numerous dead orchards on the side of I-5 between LA & Stockton. Most had a sign that said something like, "Stop the Congress Dust Bowl". What does that mean? It looked like the orchards were well taken care of previously but either didn't receive water or were abandoned.

the goverment has cut back on the water that farmers can recieve, so that means many farms are drying up. This all came about over the Delta smelts, which aren't even native to California.

I found several references that state it is native to California. ? So, to protect and enhance an endangered species, significant agriculture cuts, job losses and basically, dead farms are the result. That's a bit drastic.

The state has cut off the water for the crops, but Air Quality Management mandates the farmers have to wet down the roads to keep the dust down...go figure. We'll soon be buying all of our produce from foreign countries!

Oh wow. That is disturbing. Great, something else to destroy our country. Where are the priorities? We should be doing all we can to make sure that the U.S. is self-sufficient, rather than continuing to buy more and more from other countries. I want to at least be able to get produce that hasn't traveled hundreds of miles and started to rot before it hits the store. I hadn't heard of this before. Those poor orchards, and how sad for those that own them!

BC fruits & veggies are quite delicious :-) The irony.

Nice. Maybe I shall have to make an exception for BC produce then. =)

I think the water shortage in California and, in particular, the restrictions placed on farmers in Central California are a lot more complicated than the court order that was aimed at protecting fish although that is definitely part of it (accounting for about 20 to 30% of the shortage by some estimates).

California has gone through long periods of drought. It has an aging and unsafe water infrastructure that, if and when it fails, will destroy the water supply chain for the entire state and there isn't enough money in the budget being dedicated to fix the levees or protect the Delta. The population continues to rise while water availability decreases. 75% of California's rain falls north of Sacramento while 75% of the demand for water is south of Sacramento. Politics also play a role (of course) and some farmers are getting just as much water as they used to while other farmers have been completely cut off depending upon when they signed their water contracts with the government.

This article is a couple years old but it does a good job at outlining the various issues and sides: http://www.newsweek.com/2009/08/23/dying-on-the-vine.html

And this organization has a pretty good but basic explanation of the challenges: http://www.calwatercrisis.org/problem.htm

And if you're interested in what the government is (or isn't doing) you should check out the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) http://baydeltaconservationplan.com/BDCPPlanningProcess/ReadDraftPlan/FrequentlyAskedQuestions_copy1.aspx

Ha! I just watched a commercial promoting eating LOCAL produce ONE day a week to support Ca. agriculture. They stated that Ca. is the highest importer of agriculture! I find this totally unacceptable. We have the best growing season in this country...annual crops can rotate 3 or 4 times a year, and at one time we provided something like 80% of the nation's produce. Last night's news mentioned that one of the Rockerfellers was receiving government money to not grow crops on his farm in Idaho! What is our government doing to us??? By the way, most of those farms in the central valley are OWNED by foreign investors! I'm all for conservation of water, and wildlife, but we need to pay attention folks! There has to be compromise here! Please, think before you vote!

Thanks, GardenSox, for the links. May I say something as an outsider, not meant to offend? I know little about this stuff but I find it sad to see in such difficult economic times. I think what is needed is looking outside of the box. We're drowning up here with global change - just rained very heavily today. It's so green as we've had so much rain and it has been more and more each year. My Styrax japonicus is just staring to bloom but they'd bloom at the end of May 20 years ago. The Willamette River is quite large, even far inland near Kennewick. If water is the problem, it is the gold of California. I'm sure trade deals with Oregon &/or Washington and even BC could be done. What about Out-of-Service/Abandoned gas/oil lines? Hey, I-5 was built right through Oregon and, for the most part, it's fairly flat. I'm just thinkin' out loud.

If the government stopped shipping all of our water to Los Angeles, we would have enough for the endangered species AND our crops.

nmcnear, I hear your anger, and I agree. Unfortunately, it's all about money and politics, and Northern Ca. has the water...we have Disneyland, and the money. It ain't right, but it is what it is. I was thrilled when they cut off the draining of Mono lake!
Northern and Southern Ca have been trying to break into two seperate states for many years, and they might as well be, but where would that leave you, politically speaking? The Pot capital of the US? I happen to live in Orange county, which is basically a coastal desert. We don't get the monsoons that sometimes make it as far as SD, and the northern storms usually don't make it past Point Conception. We had a record rainfall of about 20" this year. We gave up our agriculture to development many years ago, but the central valley? That's where the Government has failed us all.
In spite of all our problems, I don't want to live anywhere else. I just fall back on the "serenity prayer" every time I watch the news!

OCCAROL - I'm interested in hearing more about your perspective. I have only lived in California for about a decade. Prior to that I lived in Washington. I remember Washingtonians being upset with Californians because they seemed to be moving up to the Pacific Northwest and driving up real estate prices/taxes. Californians were also being blamed for all the bad driving too. I even remember people complaining that we had to ship our water to California. Now I know not all of that was fair, but it seems to me like the same sort of comments are taking place in Northern and Southern California but about different things like water, immigration, and political/social differences.

As I said, I'm new(ish) to California so I don't have an ingrained stance on this, but my geographical bias does cause me to wonder why, in general, the population keeps expanding in southern California when it is clear that there isn't enough water to support the population as is. If there ever was an earthquake that damaged the Delta, what would Southern Californians do to replace that water? It's a scary thought.

I too, am a Washington transplant, and frankly wish I was back in Clarkston (mild winters). I've been here for 55 years though .I've heard the same complaints you mentioned, and can attest to the BAD drivers, especially in So. Cal.!
As to the reasons people keep moving here, I guess it's the weather and the jobs. I've known a few people that moved here from Wa. and after a couple of years, went back to where neighbors talked to each other, and they didn't spend half of their time sitting on freeways, but after a couple of winters of paying the heating bills, decided to come back south.
When I was a single mother,raising my two boys, I dreamed of moving to the San Juan islands, but I couldn't have made a living up there, so here I stayed. Now I stay because my little mobil home is payed for, the space rent is grandfathered to what I payed 23 years ago, and I have all the conveniences close by.
The water wars will continue forever, but as my son would say "it is what it is". I do think that it's a shame that our politicians have have made such a mess of this once great state though, and I don't want to eat produce from Chili and Mexico, when it can be grown next door!
As to what would we do if the delta was damaged...have you read about treated waste water? It's in the planning stages. AGGGGG!

Being in Nevada since I was 4 month old and in Las Vegas since I was 18 water is like gold. I just returned from a two week vacation from Spokane and Vancouver Washington. A trip to see the grandchildren.

We have not been out of Nevada since I retired 5 years ago because of DH's health problems.

I have never seen so much water. Rained every day 3 or 4 times. Water everywhere. Building a pipeline to Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas from the Missouri, Columbia or the other many rivers up in that area I know nothing about. It would not cost as much as we have spent on the battles we have been fighting and would create many jobs.

Maybe that is why we are all here to learn how to grow our own vegetables. And survival methods, if needed. I did love the wonderful weather and cool temperatures but it was not cold. I cannot take the cold.

As to your friend that did not have any neighbors to talk to, all my neighbors talk to me because they have had no other choice. It took me three years of waving at a gentleman down the street as he drove by. He finally waved back about 6 months ago.

AND, a few months he actually stopped one afternoon, while walking. I was working in the front landscape to chat. He wanted me to know that the weather said it was going to get cold again. I told him thank you so much for the info, but I am just cleaning.

But in our old home, we lived there 21 years and knew very few neighbors.

Last story. A gentleman was a widower and his wife had been deceased for over a year. He always walked his two poodles every afternoon at the same time. He really knew no one in the neighborhood because his wife had been ill from the very moment they moved in after their builder was done. I all but tackled him in the greenbelt. He is a Persian, and was not used to aggressive American women. We are now very good friends. His daughter was visiting from New York and wanted to know how I met her father. I told her I tackled him and she said that makes sense because he is very shy.

Can you see I have no on to talk to????

The whole water thing is scary to me. Growing up in California, I remember hearing about water restrictions and stuff like that. It didn't really mean all that much to me at the time, but now the thought scares me. I really don't want to be drinking, cooking with, or showering in treated waste water. I've heard about that. It's supposed to be entirely safe, but I foresee them figuring out 10-20 years down the road that something in that process wasn't as safe as they thought it was. Scary things.

Sharon, it is good that you make your neighbors talk to you. Neighbors should know each other, at least enough to say hello. We all need to watch out for each other. Fortunately, on my street, there are a few people that are very friendly. One of the neighbors is great - talks to everybody, watches all the goings-on on the street, lets us all know if she sees or hears about anything bad going down. It's safer for everybody on the street to talk to each other and know who belongs to which houses. Before I moved here, there had been problems on the street with robberies and car break-ins and so forth, and a couple streets away, it's not the nicest neighborhood. In my mind, neighbors are kinda like family - we might not like every single person, but we all have to live together, so we might as well make the most of it. At the very least, we might as well wave hello to each other. It's sad that so many don't even bother to make any effort.

I supposed treated waste water would not be such a bad thing for other than drinking. Couldn't be much worse than some of the other environmental junk we are exposed to daily, particularly when we live in urban and suburban areas. We are fortunate to have well water. It is very safe, but has a sulfur smell during some months. I think we all need to try to be more self sufficient in growing more food for ourselves. I have been trying that, with varying degrees of success.

Yes, CA definitely has a North vs South thing going on, but if we were to split into 2 states the dividing line would be hard to draw. There are a lot of areas in the middle of the state that do no want to be affiliated with the south, but the north considers them south, lol. No one outside of LA wants to be considered part of them (and yes, I have lived in LA County and worked downtown). While I am from WI, I have lived in the Bay area, Santa Barbara, San Diego County and now in SW Riverside county, so have some varying perspectives. We do not care for the politics in CA overall, but I happen to like the geography. We have looked into moving to other states and it is hard to find something that has everything on a wish list.

My wife and I were discussing the possibility of relocating for her job but kinda came to the same conclusion. California has a lot of problems and living here is not always the easiest thing in the world. But compared to many places, California has it good in a lot of ways, not the least of which are the climate and the many different but beautiful natural places.

There's a common joke told here in Sacramento. People like to say Sacramento is a great place to live because it's close to so many other places. Just an hour and a half from Lake Tahoe, S.F., and the wine country, for example.

Well, there is some lawmaker wanting to split the state , yet again. I don't think that will ever happen though. The north has the water and the south has the jobs, so we are co-dependent. LOL
According to the news, all our reservoirs are full now, and they are going to have to sell it because they have no room! Go figure.

Quick, start drinking it!!!! ^_^

LOL! I started drinking years ago...but not the terrible water here.

I've always thought the whole west coast should be joined together, such as Cascadia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_%28independence_movement%29 . I have more in common with someone from California or Alaska than someone from Ontario or Minnesota. BC has extensive natural resources that the east likes to pilfer and command from political pillars. It makes more sense to have north-south trades (water, resources, etc) than west-east.

It's raining right now and has been for a few days, the rivers are flooded and even washing away high-power towers http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/908868--b-c-hydro-tower-topples-into-fraser-river-shuts-down-morning-commute . Want water? - we've got lots. Seeing all those dying orchards was quite sad, especially considering it was only the ones I could see from the highway.

I live in an area where we have tons of ground water and there are many ideas on what to do with it. The problem is politics. There has been plans in the works for years to develope three man made lakes that would not only bring waters to the surface, but lots of jobs with the recreation areas. It would also buy out home owners in some of the worst parts of town. I love the idea but I don't live in any of the areas where re-location would have to happen. I would think that alot of the older homeowners in the affected area would want to move due to the decline of their areas but many of them don't want to. That's why any answer to any problem that involves humans takes forever. No two people can agree on anything and it's very hard to be the one who has to do the giving up. And lets face it, if a politition can make money on something, that's the way they are going to lean, it doesn't matter if it's the right thing to do.