FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546; steve@hopcraft.com; Twitter: @shopcraft; @MrSandHillCrane; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 barbara@restorethedelta.org; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta
In case you missed it…
The Seattle Times May 5, 2014
In California drought, fortunes are made
As California enters a third year of drought, agribusinesses are planting huge groves of trees, writes syndicated columnist Froma Harrop.
“…Yet agribusinesses are planting huge new groves of thirsty almond and pistachio trees. Bear in mind, these are permanent plantings. …
“…What gives is a Byzantine system of allocating water to a farming empire built where it shouldn’t be — in a desert. …
“…Out of complexity hidden in darkness rise corruption and reckless public spending. And fortunes are made. …
“…What bothers Henry these days are the massive plantings of new crop trees right in the jaws of a drought. Put in only a year or two ago, lines of tiny trees stretch to the horizon with military precision. Between 2008 and 2012, agribusiness planted 68,000 more acres of permanent crops in Kern County alone. …
“…And though they are banned from selling water they move through the publicly owned system of canals for urban development, they do. …
“…The Resnicks appear to be selling some of their water to a developer seeking to create a new 2,000-acre planned community, Gateway Village, in another county. …”
To read the entire article click or go here: http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2023537892_fromaharropcolumndrought06xml.html