Water allocation

889 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is the importance of clean water

WHY “FISH VS. FARMERS” IS A FALSE DICHOTOMY
By: Trent Orr

Trent Orr makes his case for the allocation of more water to environment by citing the example of salmon migration. Orr, criticizes Senator Feinstein’s decision to back a bipartisan bill being passed through the senate during the current drought conditions. This bill extricates the “protections for the San Francisco bay estuary”, in order to allocate more water to the central valley agriculture and cities. This will lead to endangering the rare species of fish like Chinook salmon, steel head and green sturgeon etc. (Lochhead, 2014).
Under ideal weather conditions, these fish require to complete their natural life cycle of swimming to the ocean and then coming back to the rivers in three years to reproduce. Because of the bill being passed, the water connecting rivers and the bay to the ocean is not present there anymore. Therefore, the smolts become susceptible to higher temperatures and predation; so most of them cannot make it to the ocean. Few others that are transported through tankers to the ocean by fisheries have a broken imprinting cycle, so they do not remember their way back to the bay to reproduce. These factors lead to the drastic drop in the number of fish, leading to an unpleasant imbalance in the ecosystem (Skelton, 2014).
The author also highlights the fact that obstructing the fresh water to flow through the delta, will deteriorate the quality of drinking water because of higher quantities of salt present.
Environmentalists have strongly opposed this bill and feel that politicians have used the arid weather conditions as a subterfuge to assault the environmental regulations that they have been eyeing for a long time (Goodyear, 2014).

The depleting sa...

... middle of paper ...

... fish. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Feinstein-pressure- on-water-boosts-farms-over-fish-5390533.php#page-1 Orr, T. (2014, April 28). Why "fish vs. farmers" is a false dichotomy.
Retrieved from http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-april/why-fish-vs-farmers-is-a- false-dichotomy. Skelton, G. (2014, February 19). Water war boils down to farmers vs. fishermen. Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/19/local/la-me-cap- drought-20140220 Strom, S. (2014, April 2014). California’s Thirsting Farmland. The New York Times.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/business/energy-
environment/californias-thirsting-farmland.html

Show More
Related

  • Salmon Running The Gauntlet: Documentary Analysis

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Policies are often put in place without regards for the effect it will have on other areas, people, or wildlife. Several examples of these unintended consequences are shown in the documentary Salmon: Running the Gauntlet, which explains the effects that human activity, dams, and attempts to repopulate the salmon species have been implemented and failed. With proper evaluation at the onset of a major project, these severe consequences may be avoided.

    Read More

  • Four Fish Summary

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this entertaining, search into global fish hatcheries, New York Times writer Paul Greenberg investigates our historical connection with the ever changing ocean and the wild fish within it. In the beginning of the book Paul is telling his childhood fishing stories to his friends, that night Paul discovers that that four fish dominate the world’s seafood markets in which are salmon, tuna, cod, and bass. He tries to figure out why this is and the only logical answer he could come up with is that four epochal shifts caused theses wild fish population to diminish. History shows that four epochal shifts happen within fifteen years causing certain fish species populations to diminish. He discovers for each of the four fish why this happened to

    Read More

  • Maine’s Commercial Lobster Industry

    2512 Words  | 6 Pages

    Larabee, John, and Richard Price. "Tide of Troubles has Fish Industry Reeling/ Crisis Caused by Pollution, Development, Over-Fishing." USA Today 10 Mar. 1994: 9A

    Read More

  • What Are The Similarities Between Phoenix And Milagro Beanfield War

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Milagro, located in New Mexico where water is a high class amenity and questionable developer named Ladd Devine has deceived a flashy resort. The plan was to funnel off all the water from the neighboring lands and crop-fields. Luckily a repairman and farmer named Joe Mondragon accidentally tampers with a valve for water set aside for major-grade companies. Which unwittingly sparks a small scale water rights war between the elite and

    Read More

  • Pollution Problems Concerning the Long Island Sound

    2479 Words  | 5 Pages

    Concern On The Coast, Classical Conflict Again Unfolds: Energy vs. Environment." Hartford Courant 16 Oct. 2005, 3 Stars/Final ed., sec. A. Bigchalk Database. 8 Nov. 2005. Tedesco, Mark A. "This Fine Piece of Water:

    Read More

  • Water Problems in Texas

    1966 Words  | 4 Pages

    Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.

    Read More

  • Consequences of the Drought in the Central Valley

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    On the heart (center) of California is a flat area with miles and miles of farms and up to 230 different crops. The central valley agriculture is essential to the United States; it not only delivers almost half of the produce but also helps the economy by also giving more job opportunities (California Department of food and agriculture, 2014). Many families depend on the central valley agriculture to survive economically in the United States. It is a well-known fact that rain and snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are a very important element in the central valley. No rain in the central valley can cause many devastating issues to occur quickly. Recently in the year of 2013 California received less rainfall than years before. The small amount of water the central valley is receiving is harming not only to the land but humans and animals as well. It’s destroying the habitats of animals with forest fires caused from the dry spells occurring. The central valley is going through a drought, so much that around this time of year the central valley usually accumulates enough rain for the necessities in the valley, agriculture for example. This year, however, has been different, the central valley hasn’t received enough water and this has caused a drought in the valley. Water is an important element in this world for not only human life, but for the environment in general, a shortage of water supply can bring issues to the environment and those living in it. The central valley holds the largest percent of class one soil, not only that, the valley grows a third of all the produce being grown in the United States, that’s more than 230 crops that are being grown in the central valley. However, this drought isn’t only affecting the resident...

    Read More

  • Iks by Lewis Thomas

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    California water war has been an great example of different cities fighting against each other since they all share the common characteristics of greed, and selfish. Back in the 1800’s, Los Angeles grew largely in populations when finally it outgr...

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Documentary Film "Flow- For the Love of Water"

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    “How can you buy or sell the sky-the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of air or the sparkle of the water. How can you buy them from us? We will decide in our time” (Chief Seattle: 1855). In the Documentary “Flow – for the love of water” it visualizes the global crisis we face on Mother’s Earth as it pertains to the diminishing of fresh water. The Documentary portrays along with the help of experts that this global crises is affecting each and every one of us in today’s society including animals. The film shows us that water is constantly being wasted, polluted, and privatized by big co operations. Prime examples of these greedy companies were mentioned in the film such as Nestle, Thames, Suez, Vivendi, Coca Cola and Pepsi.

    Read More

  • Allocating Effects Of Wasting Water: Hazardous Waste Of Water

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    Some people may not know this but wasting water affects our environment. Whenever water is wasted it ends up in treatment facilities. We need water to survive yet people still waste it because to their understanding there will always be water whenever they turn on a faucet. This is one of the main reasons that water is wasted. People often waste more water than they use. “Australia uses on average 500 litres per person per day, European countries using between 200 – 400 litres and the UK using about 150 litres.” This quote from the article, “Water Conservation” explains how not just in the US but all around the world people are wasting significant amounts of water every day.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Water Scarcity

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    Miller, Debra A. Will the World Run out of Fresh Water? Detroit: Greenhaven, 2007. Print.

    Read More

  • Essay On Water Management

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Water management encompasses a long history, going back to the makes an attempt in prehistoric times in response to seasonal changes in water availability. Water management was crucial during the transition from hunting-gathering to farming, and have become nonetheless a lot of necessary with the emergence of cities, industrial towns, and administrative centers. Water management has never entirely been a matter often technical intervention. It’s embedded at intervals a good diversity of cultural, social and political arrangements. Water management was important to guarantee water system to the places where water was required once it absolutely was required, as well as obtaining eliminate excess water or contaminated water. Water management was concerned in protecting fields, cities and sacred places, as much as being concerned in line of work to domestic, agricultural, industrial and cultural wants. Collecting and writing down the history of different types of water management and flood protection activities in varied ecological settings and stream basins of the world and recording sensible and dangerous experiences within the completely different domains of water management is essential for a correct assessment of our current endeavors. Being acquainted with a spread of practices and reflecting upon their consequences will be terribly useful for future coming up with and strategic thinking. According to the Pakistani government "While regional impacts can vary, international global climate change can doubtless alter agricultural productivity, fresh availableness and quality, access to important minerals, coastal and island flooding, and more. Among the results of those impacts are challenges to political relationships, realignmen...

    Read More

  • The Global Water Crisis

    2639 Words  | 6 Pages

    "Water Crisis & Solutions." Water Crisis & Solutions. Water For People, 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. http://www.waterforpeople.org/extras/crisis/water-crisis-and-solutions.html

    Read More

  • Water And Food Insecurity Essay

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Malin Falkenmark (2001) The Greatest Water Problem: The Inability to Link Environmental Security, Water Security and Food Security, International Journal of Water Resources Development,

    Read More

  • Water Shortage in India: Problems and Solutions

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rogers, Peter. 2008. "Facing the Freshwater CRISIS. (Cover story)." Scientific American 299, no. 2: 46-53. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 4, 2010).

    Read More

More about Water allocation

Open Document