Sunday, January 19, 2014

CA Governor Brown Declares Statewide Drought Emergency



CA Governor Brown Declares Statewide Drought Emergency
by Robert Wilde 18 Jan 2014, 4:07 PM PDT
“The history of California water is the history of droughts…Droughts motivate us to do stuff,” says Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. On Friday, Governor of California Jerry Brown announced he is ready to “do stuff.”

Brown declared that California is officially in a statewide drought emergency. His pronouncement comes during one of California’s driest winters on record. As a result of this and after two previous years of diminished rainfall, reservoirs have reached undesirable levels. Therefore, Brown is advocating that all residents reduce water usage by 20%. "We ought to be ready for a long, continued, persistent effort to restrain our water use," the Governor stated.

California farmers hailed Brown’s action as welcome news. "Farmers across California face wrenching decisions today, as well as in coming months," Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation, acknowledged in a statement. "Will they have enough water to plant crops, to water their livestock, and keep trees and vines alive?" Wenger asked.

Although the governor’s 20-point drought declaration does not require mandatory rationing yet, there will be a statewide conservation campaign and a program to help direct water flow from rights holders to districts in need. Moreover, state agencies will make efforts to minimize the effects of water shortages on agriculture, communities, and fish and wildlife.

This is the 13th emergency drought proclamation since 1987, equating to about one every other year. These proclamations are usually confined to only one part of the state. The last statewide drought declaration was in 2009, issued by then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Politicians also applauded Brown’s decisions and plan on making sure they promote their pet projects. As former Obama adminsitartion Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste, what I mean by that it is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” The drought announcement by Brown is prompting lawmakers from California’s Central Valley to call for more water storage projects.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is pushing for an $11-billion water bond for the fall ballot and is calling on the state to use significant capital resources available from prior state bonds. Moreover, Brown’s actions have reinvigorated proponents of a $25 billion project to re-plumb the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta. Advocates say the project would help avert future water shortages.

Nevertheless, Governor Brown believes that the drought is not a political phenomenon. He stated at the news conference in San Francisco, "This is not a partisan adversary. This is Mother Nature." Brown added, "We have to get on nature's side and not abuse the resources that we have."

UC Davis
Cruz Reynoso is a professor at the University of California at Davis, and was a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Note: Stewart A. Resnick is a chancellor's advisory board member for the University of California at Davis, and a benefactor at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
James J. Duderstadt is a chancellor's advisory board member for the University of California at Davis, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Lester Crown was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Rahm I. Emanuel is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.
Kathleen Brown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Jerry Brown’s sister, and was the California state government treasurer.
Jerry Brown is Kathleen Brown’s brother, and the California state government governor.
California state government is the government for the State of California.
CA congressional delegation is the delegation for the State of California.
Dianne Feinstein is a senator for the CA congressional delegation, a U.S. Senate senator, married to Richard C. Blum, and was the San Francisco (CA) mayor.
Richard C. Blum is married to Senator Dianne Feinstein, a regent for the University of California, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Economic Advisory Council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Kathleen Brown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Jerry Brown’s sister, and was the California state government treasurer.
Jerry Brown is Kathleen Brown’s brother, and the California state government governor.

No comments: