wowOwow - The Women on the Web

I know the Central Valley of California well … and it surprising to most that most of our nation’s fruits and nuts and produce come from this area.  It is isolated in its own way, and therefore, not actually seen up close and personal.

However, there are other issues here beside the drought that must be factored in when talking about this area.  As the last water district to join the Federal Irrigation Agreement, this particular area is first to be restricted in water shortages while adjoining areas may be doing - well, not well - but far better.

On top of this, In 2008, California was determined to flush more cold river water through the Delta to protect the threatened delta smelt, a small fish that needs fresh cold water to spawn. The fish’s health is an indicator of the overall health of the river. Water and wildlife managers want to allow more water to flow through the Delta to protect the chinook salmon as well. Salmon populations dropped significantly enough in 2008 and 2009 that fishing was banned. But if water is diverted to sustain smelt and salmon, the water is not available to support farms and growing cities.

This makes for very very difficult decisions that will have to be addressed — and better sooner than later.  It is predicted that significant rainfall will come in bursts with dire drought conditions expected to a greater extent in the changing climate of the world.  While we can expect imports to fill a small amount of what is seen as the gap to come, the subject that Lesley will address is going to impact us all.

This saddens me.  I will definitely watch. I have my fingers crossed for California to pull through these trying times.  

Central Texas has commercial pecan orchards with improved varieties and  also 30+ year old trees.  The problem is water.  There’s either been too much water, not enough water, or water at the wrong time of the season.  This is true of other  major crops as well.  It also affects the cattle industry.  Hurricane Ike destroyed pasture lands with salt water along most of the coastline.

So yes, we will see some shortages and increases in prices.  I shouldn’t be worried about pecans for personal use.  We have two healthy trees on our property. But the squirrels have first call.  Grrrrrrrr!

Hang tough, Californians!

This will certainly be a very interesting program to see. For years now, I have been hearing about the seemingly insurmountable problem caused by the shortage of water to this area, which I understand is centered on agriculture, and is in fact considered one of the most productive in the world. As I have followed with great interest for years now, it would appear that nothing can be done to realize a way of resolving the difficulty. It would seem that the land owners have been doing everything they can to achieve some sort of solution working with specialists in the field such as agricultural researchers and hydraulic engineers and soil and erosion scientists. The more I have read, I personally have become very skeptical of what the future, in fact, the near future, holds for this most important part of the world upon which much depends as a vital resource for fruits and vegetables. Lesley Stahl’s discussions with Arnold Schwarzenegger should provide some very interesting insight into what the Government’s intentions are in offering a definite resolution. You may be sure that I’ll be watching the program.