An excellent history of water projects/management by the US Department of the Interior and how it affected the land west of the Mississippi is “The Cadillac Desert” by Marc Reisner.  All of the land west of the Mississippi, with the exception of the northwest, is known as high desert——there’d be no water for farming or living except for the massive water projects.

I just listened to a minister this morning talking
about “famine” and “pestilence” in the latter days.
Wonder how that may relate to this situation?  Oh
well, why worry?  Rev. Gleen Beck has all the answers.  As far as watching a movie by Roman Polanski, out of respect for young girls, I will NEVER watch a movie by THE PERVERT.

The author of this article writes like someone consumed with hate and jealousy. 

I make my living from my photography of some of the most beautiful places in the U.S. and the world.  My products are featured at many National Parks here in the United States. 

I choose to live in Independence in the Owens Valley because I believe it to be the most beautiful place on the planet.  What Los Angeles and William Mullholland stole was not just the water, but the profiteers and the developers too. 

The Owens Valley was perhaps the most beautiful on the planet before twentieth century development defaced so much of the Earth’s treasure.  When the Department of Water and Power purchased, at the going rate, nearly 100% of the land in the valley and the water rights that came with the land and then shipped the water south, the Department instituted a policy of “zero development.”

This protected the Owens Valley in an ironclad way that perhaps exceeds that provided by National Park status.  Fewer people live here than did in 1913.  Try to match that somewhere else that competes for World’s Most Beautiful Place accolades.

The City has recently spent half a billion dollars on projects to control the dust on the now dry Owens Lake Bed.  Soon they will be converting that dry lake bed to the planet’s largest solar farm which has the potential to provide electrical power equal to the entire consumption of the state of California.

As far as the Westlands farming area is concerned, I travel there often as I have been working on a project on Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park for the past seven years.  It is probably true that most of those farms are owned by large corporations.  But there are some small family farms, especially in the citrus fruit belt along the edge of the foothills.  There are few places in the world as beautiful as those wonderful farms at the foot of the western side of the Sierra. (The author refers to the “Sierra Nevadas.”  That is incorrect.  Locals mostly refer to the collection of various ranges (Sierras) by the singular, “Sierra,” as in, “We spent the weekend up in the Sierra fishing.”

It’s a 30 mile walk to the far side from the end of the road above Indy.  When I check the web for the nearest BMW dealer they suggest the one in Visalia, more like a 250 mile drive away.  They don’t imagine that we have a mountain range in America so magnificent and foreboding that no roads cross it for hundreds of miles!

I share the author’s concern about the security of the water system that serves the delta but not his hatred of the people who farm in the San Joaquin valley.  Sure, I would rather see it farmed by cooperatives that shared the wealth equally among the workers themselves, but the corporations are not only thieves, they are also pretty good farmers because otherwise they wouldn’t make money for their share holders and the San Joaquin valley is the most beautiful and productive farmland in the world.

Night-Gaunt;

“The way must be clear to be understood so real changes can be made so humanity can not only survive but survive in the best way. Neo-primitivism and barbarianism isn’t it.”

The way is clear, the system that Eurasian civilization has used for 10,000 years is crumbling, the subsets of governance, politics, economy and the rule’s that apply are meaningless. The way is clear to those who chose to understand it.

The indigenous people of the southern California did not fair so well during the last warm period 800 years ago, disappearing from the Santa Cruz Islands and battling each other over water, acorns and game animals on the main land until their populations were much reduced. Later those that lived in the north and south were exterminated by their contact with western civilization, who were the barbarians then and have they changed so much? 

Neo-primitive and or barbarism are choices that will follow, in the path of this evolutionary cycle, if one supposes that the talking monkey survives. The way is clear to those who understand it.

Yes part of the Global Climate Change (GCC) is that we will be in for some weird weather as the patterns are in flux as the present local weather systems of our global climate adjusts to more heat in the atmosphere. Dry areas become dryer, some areas lose rainfall, others get way too much, plus many other effects that will come from that too will manifest. Some of it now, more later. Pessimist? Nor hardly, a realist yes. No sugar coating please, the way must be clear to be understood so real changes can be made so humanity can not only survive but survive in the best way. Neo-primitivism and barbarianism isn’t it.

News Flash: A small island that India and Pakistan have been arguing over is now gone, swallowed by the sea as GCC continues, “not to happen”—Glenn Beck

It would benefit the oligarchs here if climate change becomes worse for they will use it to impose harsh dictatorial theocratic gov’t here and abroad.

News flash:  The lack of potable water will someday dwarf the current issues around global warming - water is already rationed in many communities in the US. 

God’s Irony:  a threat of floods in one area and a dire lack of water in others. 

Noah, How long can you de-salinate water ?

I would guess that Levine writes from afar, as at the last future planning meeting for the west valley, in Fresno California, plans were laid out for the future construction of a billion gigawatt solar generating station on the west side, along with another nuclear tea kettle all to power a purposed mag-lift train to San Fransisco, Sacramento, the hub being Fresno and diesel electric high speed trains running south. That’s were to look for the rich and disreputable, as there will be plenty off your tax money to skim off.

Still the levies on the delta do need some work but water to the west side is not as significant as it used to be.

Night-Gaunt;

So pessimistic, the system and its rules will take care of everything, even the fools who built their cities in a desert, not very sustainable when examined carefully.

See Roman Polanski’s film “Chinatown”, based on true events which took place just after the turn of the 20th century.  Look what happened to the Owens Valley as a result of this water theft.  It may happen again.

Well all that and not a mention of civil war and those N. Californians who want the water for themselves because they know that a bad water shortage is coming and they want control of their water back. Through that into the mix and societal break down from a drought like that and maybe riots and disease spread and California just could become our Somalia. The billionaires just might have to use Xe and Triple Canopy etc. to keep the peace when the US military is busy and the national guard is overseas too. The police can’t handle it so mercenaries at home.

hello. in his prime, Arnold would not stand for this. he would organize migrant workers to hand out two days supply of bottled water, and tell everyone to walk to Nevada, Arizona, or one more bottle for Oregon. “listen to me, listen to me… this is a clysis. the sky is not falling. it’s not going to rain little wet droplets on your numb skulls. we will all be without water. if you stay, you will dry up and blow away in the wind, like paper machete peoples. listen to me. listen to me. you pay me now, or you will pay later. water is not free.”