Delta Why?

I grew up in a small town along the Sacramento River in northern California.  Because of that, this report is of special interest to me:

Crisis in the delta, Editorial, LA Times:  Fish life in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta is declining at crisis levels, and state officials are at a loss to explain why, or what to do about it. The situation has potentially grave implications for an estimated 24 million Californians who get some or all of their water from the Rhode Island-size estuary south of Sacramento and east of San Francisco Bay...

The delta crisis provides a critical test of CalFed, the multibillion-dollar, multi-agency program created by the state and federal governments to end the continual water wars focusing on the delta. The health of the delta depends on leaving sufficient water to wash naturally into San Francisco Bay. The viability of CalFed is in question because Congress has not come up with the promised federal share of its costs, future state funds are threatened by budget shortfalls and water interests — farmers, urban water districts and environmentalists — can't agree on how future projects should be financed.

Meanwhile, state and federal experts are baffled by the decline in fish life. The populations of striped bass, the endangered delta smelt, the threadfin shad and a variety of plankton are at record lows, and the problem seems to be getting worse. This is all the more puzzling because, unlike previous species declines, this one doesn't appear to be drought-related. ... Environmentalists and the sportfishing industry blame too much pumping. The fishermen want to cut off water exports, which is impossible. … Steve Hall, head of the Assn. of California Water Agencies — a coalition of urban and farming districts … says that exports have not been a factor even though pumping reached record levels over the last three years. Hall said the decline in fish life is caused by toxic blooms triggered by "alien" algae, possibly introduced by the purging of ship ballast. Water agencies are arguing for even more pumping. … State officials need to be sure that CalFed has the money and scientific help it needs in attacking the delta crisis. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked the Little Hoover Commission to look into CalFed's structural problems. … The delta is vital to California's economy and lifestyle. Its ecological collapse is unthinkable.

Unthinkable is right.  As a kid growing up, I could not have imagined it.

Comments

[anne]

Such an progression is always disturbing, but that the cause should not be readily identified is alarming.

[Ralph]

Its probably a combination of increased pumping, exacerbating the impact of pesticide runoff plus the introduction of the Asian clam (a voracious eater). That they are proposing increased pumping in this situation is outrageous, however, SoCal and the ag interests have the political power

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/25/international/americas/25mexico.html

August 25, 2005

Turtle Eggs, Sex and Flirty Ads, Fixings of a Mexican Stew
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

MEXICO CITY - Women in scanty dress are used to sell everything from cars to cigars in Mexico, but the efforts of environmentalists to harness one model's sex appeal to stop men from eating turtle eggs as an aphrodisiac have created a stir here.

The advertising campaign features a buxom Argentine model in a swimsuit giving the camera her loveliest come-hither look. Next to her are the words "My man doesn't need turtle eggs." The caption below reads, "Because he knows they don't make him more potent."

The environmentalists behind the campaign say they are trying to reach men who buy turtle eggs from street vendors for a dollar and eat them raw with lime and a pinch of salt in the belief they are a natural form of Viagra.

"We said, 'Let's have a sexy girl saying that the man I choose doesn't need sea turtle eggs,' " said Fay Crevoshay, the communications director for Wildcoast, a San Diego-based environmental group. "This is what I call target marketing. We are talking to a certain type of man that will look at this and will get the message." ...

[anne]

Mark - Conservationists ought to be especially creative.

Ralph - Why then is sampling fertilizer or pesticide concentrations not points to the problem? What is being overlooked?

[anne]

Mark thought this was going to be a tame blog. Little did he know :)

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/science/24enviro.html?ex=1264309200&en=0c2261a734e7da06&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

January 24, 2005

Nations Ranked as Protectors of the Environment
By FELICITY BARRINGER

WASHINGTON - Countries from Northern and Central Europe and South America dominated the top spots in the 2005 index of environmental sustainability, which ranks nations on their success at such tasks as maintaining or improving air and water quality, maximizing biodiversity and cooperating with other countries on environmental problems.

Finland, Norway and Uruguay held the top three spots in the ranking, prepared by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities. The United States ranked 45th of the 146 countries studied, behind such countries as Japan, Botswana and the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and most of Western Europe.

The lowest-ranking country was North Korea. Among those near the bottom were Haiti, Taiwan, Iraq and Kuwait....

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