[Sosfbay-discuss] Water Realities and Other Drought Effects

[Andrea Dorey]

Wes,
By now you probably realize that Santa Clara County has declared  
California a year-round fire hazard.  The county weed abatement czars  
are down everyone's throats regarding any weeds, green or dry, over a  
certain height and will fine hi/r if they find out, whether by a  
casual drive by with a camera or a complaint registered by a gleeful  
neighborhood busybody.

A few weeks back, I appeared at the council meeting in the chambers  
on Hedding Street to bring up the importance of the riparian areas  
and the cooler micro-environment that should be taken into  
consideration before demanding that hillside dwellers—living at about  
2000 feet—must cut grasses/"weeds" to the schedule set for sea-level  
Milpitas homeowners.  I cited the presence of Tarantula migrations in  
October on their way to Mount Hamilton, the gatherings of Monarch  
Butterflies in the pastures with native and wild grasses, and the  
floods of balloon spiders floating on their silvery parachutes, all  
of which happened in years past, but beginning to fade away as  
draconian stripping and discing of pastures are enforced early and  
often, now to be year-round.

Don Cortese was present at that meeting and, after all the people had  
spoken, he requested that Mr Gregg (the UberMeister of this "weed"  
program) seriously research the issue of riparian areas—a direct  
response to my plea.  (I was the only one that brought up that  
issue.)  I was surprised and pleased to see that Cortese "got it."   
Gregg showed little interest but was forced to agree to the request  
as Cortese deliberately repeated it several times.  I'm going to  
watch for this process with the hope that it doesn't fall through  
bureaucratic cracks.

In the two minutes I was allotted to address the council, I didn't  
mention this:  Just this year we had the very first invasion of  
locusts (talk about biblical totems!):  I have never seen these in  
the hillside area before, let alone the heavy flood of these flying  
insects that darkened the air for perhaps an hour.  Also, we have  
large numbers of squirrels and noisy jays that suddenly showed up in  
the last couple of years.  We used to have lots of mud swallows and  
small birds and song birds, but these are more and more absent,  
driven out by the more aggressive invaders.  Hummingbirds, bumble  
bees, and ladybugs are beginning to thin out as well.

I'm also seeing a lot of pecking damage to fruit that is nowhere near  
ripened yet (such as apples); another new phenomenon.

Do you think this might be a good letter to write to the "Murky"  
News, Wes?  Is it worth pursuing?  Or will I come off as another  
crazy tree hugging, organic family farmer?

Have you seen anything like this going on in your area?
Andrea

On Feb 5, 2009, at 7:25 PM, Wes Rolley wrote:

> I wrote this last week, before Energy Secretary Chu talked of the
> scenario under which California loses it Agricultural Industry and the
> viability of our major cities comes under question.  However, it  
> went up
> this afternoon at the Morgan Hill Times and was picked up by  
> Aquafornia
> Blog <http://aquafornia.com/archives/6804>.
>
> *Now is the time to start making changes*
> 1:25 PM
>  By Wes Rolley <mailto:editor at morganhilltimes.com>
>
> As it is becoming increasingly clear that this is going to be the  
> third
> year in row with below normal rainfall, I have spent a lot of time
> reviewing the manner in which the media around the state is covering
> this story. The story varies somewhat from paper to paper if they  
> cover
> it at all. But, in general, most follow this logic. This is the third
> year of a drought. The effects are going to be felt most heavily on
> agriculture. Consumers will feel it in higher prices at the grocery
> store. Government ought to do something.
>
> This logic makes the assumption that what we are seeing is the low  
> side
> of a cycle of drought and plenty and we would be OK if we only save  
> more
> from times of plenty to use later. Even major news service, like
> Bloomberg, get the economic point. It will cost California Agriculture
> more than $1 billion and the California Farm Bureau Association
> estimates that it will cost 40,000 jobs.
>
> I have two problems with this scenario. First, it leaves out a major
> part of the story, climate change. Then it leaves us with the  
> impression
> that we can continue doing things in the same manner that we have done
> them in the past. That might be true if it were not for problem  
> number one.
>
> There is a high probability that what we are experiencing this year  
> will
> not be viewed as an extraordinary event in the coming year. In  
> fact, it
> may be the new normal in a warming climate. The impact of that on
> California Agriculture will be huge if nothing is done. Some  
> farmers are
> beginning to plan.
>
> Most newspapers do not cover the story in this manner, especially not
> the major papers in the coastal population centers. The Merced Sun  
> Star
> emphasized the idea that current conditions may stay around for a long
> time. In discussing the impact of climate change on water resources,
> they write that "local land use, development and their impacts on  
> water
> planning comprise another issue. Today, a collection of interests
> compete over the same sources of water. The success or failure of  
> local
> preparations for the impending water crisis will make all the  
> difference."
>
> It seems that most papers can write about water, or global warming,  
> but
> have not yet grasped that watersheds and the climate are very dynamic,
> interconnected systems and we can no longer afford to treat them as
> little boxed problems to solve.
>
> In September, 2008, the Pacific Institute, a Bay Area think tank,
> published a report that made the case that we can solve our water
> problems with better management of existing water, especially for
> agriculture; "More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and
> Efficiency in California - A Special Focus on the Delta."
>
> As the title suggests, it is all about conservation. They got their
> hands dirty on farms, in irrigation ditches, all over this state  
> before
> they came to the conclusion that it was possible.
>
> We need, however, to start considering that some farmers may need to
> grow different crops. At a very simple level, even I have been doing
> that. We are replacing an olive tree with a jujube for the specific
> reason that it does well in dry conditions. U.C. Davis is working on a
> plan for some counties to switch their major crops as the climate
> changes, adjusting their agriculture to different temperature and  
> water
> realities.
>
> A public works officials once told me that they did not want to  
> mention
> water conservation in a good year because then they would not have  
> that
> tool to fall back on when a drought hits. This type of thinking is the
> epitome of bureaucratic thinking rather than ecological thinking.
>
> Just like the farmers, we are all going to have to make changes, maybe
> even lifestyle changes, to ensure that we have the water we need. The
> days are over when we can assume that our water district will supply
> whatever water we want whenever we want it.
>
> At least, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has good programs for
> water efficiency even though they do not promote them enough. Earlier
> this year, I wrote about taking out lawn and replacing it with a
> combination of pavers and bark. The project is completed and I have my
> rebate check safely in the bank. The only complaint that I had was the
> fact that it took too long to process the check after I submitted my
> paperwork and had the final inspection. Otherwise, the only pain  
> was in
> my arms from carrying all of those pavers.
>
> Finally, I would have to say that Congressman Jerry McNerney 'gets  
> it."
> He introduced The Healthy Communities Water Supply Act, H.R. 700.
>
> According to his press release, this act "will authorize $250  
> million -
> double the 2007 proposed authorization - in funding for projects that
> increase the usable water supply by encouraging innovation in water
> conservation, recharge, recycling, reuse, and reclamation."
>
> One by one, we are all going to have to make changes and now is the  
> time
> to start.
>
> -- 
> "Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you  
> don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente
>
> Wes Rolley
> 17211 Quail Court, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
> http://www.refpub.com/ -- Tel: 408.778.3024
>
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