Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Today, California's Governor is signing into law SB 7X 1, part of the legislative package to reform water policy in the state. The bill being signed today builds the foundation for a sustainable 21st century water policy, which is built on two interrelated principles:...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Yesterday, the Governor signed into law SB 7X 7, a bill that NRDC co-sponsored to improve water use efficiency in California. This landmark legislation requires California to achieve a 20% improvement in water use efficiency per person by 2020, making...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Never mind that drought, not endangered fish species, is what is driving low water allocations for some farmers in the Central Valley, as both the state and federal governments have recognized numerous times. Never mind that the State's Senior Meteorologist says...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Today's editorial in the Wall Street Journal tries to blame all of the Central Valley's woes on the tiny delta smelt, and on a lawsuit by NRDC, in order to perpetuate myths about the impacts of protecting endangered species in...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Yesterday, the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) filed a petition to eliminate environmental protections for California's salmon and other endangered fish. PLF and some water users are trying to perpetuate a myth that Californians must choose between people and fish.Only one...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
While some Members of Congress and other elected officials have fallen hook, line and sinker for the myth that protecting California's endangered fish species like salmon is a struggle of "people vs fish," other voices are speaking out passionately against...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Over the past 8 years of the Bush Administration, politics trumped science to enable water exports to reach unprecedented levels in California, reaping a host of consequences. One of the consequences was that the state's native fish, particularly salmon, were...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
On Thursday, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is expected to release its biological opinion (BO) on the effects of the state and federal water projects on threatened and endangered runs of salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, and killer whales. The...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The tiny endangered delta smelt has become a popular target for anger over low water allocations this year. It's not a charismatic species - not many people love a three inch long fish that smells like cucumber and lives only...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Even though it hasn't rained in the past couple of days, the past couple days have seen some good news for farmers, urban water agencies and the environment. It's a welcome change from the parade of bad news about water allocations...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Yesterday, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to close the salmon fishing season throughout California in 2009. This will be only the second time in the State's history (last year was the first) that the fishery will be completely shut down. ...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on California's water supply this year, with particular emphasis on farmers in the Central Valley. Largely as a result of three consecutive dry years, this is going to be a...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
In recent days, there have been various news stories about efforts to weaken environmental protections for fish in the Delta, in order to make more water available for people. After dry years in 2007 and 2008, the low rainfall total...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Today, the state and federal governments announced that they are requesting a waiver of water quality standards in the Delta in February, in order "to preserve cold water needed for salmon habitat as well as water supplies necessary for drought...continued→
Posted by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
Today, we expect that the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will announce water pumping restrictions in the Bay-Delta to protect longfin smelt from being sucked into the export pumps of the state and federal water projects. The longfin...continued→
