I'd like to offer you a final reminder to register for my water forum taking place in Tulare on August 31. At the event KMJ's Ray Appleton, farmers, water district representatives, and I will discuss the likely consequences of the ongoing water crisis and possible solutions to the problem. It will be held at the Heritage Complex at 4500 S. Laspina St. from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm PST. The event is fr... Read more »
The 2015 Fresno County Crop Report found that Fresno’s crop value declined by $400 million last year. A Fresno Bee article on the report quotes Fresno County Agriculture Commissioner Les Wright as saying simply, “The lack of a reliable water supply continues to fallow productive land.” The story also quotes West side farmer Dan Errotabere: “The water shortage with the fallowing and cost of farmin... Read more »
You can listen to my recent discussion with KMJ's Ray Appleton about the California water crisis and high-speed rail here: http://1.usa.gov/20Y0IeJ Read more »
A group of state attorneys general announced earlier this year they would investigate ExxonMobil for fraud due to company statements that cast doubt on the supposedly catastrophic threat posed by global warming. In an amazing coincidence, the officials took action shortly after a coalition of global warming activists, including Greenpeace and the Rockefeller Family Fund, held a fateful meeting in... Read more »
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced today that westside farmers will receive a minuscule 5 percent water allocation for 2016, following zero percent allocations for the previous two years. This means westside growers will continue to struggle with critical water shortages for the near future. Water bureaucrats will undoubtedly continue blaming the drought and global warming. But those excuse... Read more »
Capay Valley, a rural area northwest of Sacramento, recently had a big turnout to celebrate its 101st annual Almond Festival. This caught my eye because extreme environmental groups have blamed California farmers in general and almond growers in particular for the state's water crisis. Of course, they rely on grossly distorted statistics to make their case, but that doesn't seem to bother many of... Read more »
Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed its fourth major California water bill in less than four years. Once again, we are moving legislation that will ease the devastating water crisis that is wreaking havoc on the Central Valley economy and pushing useful farmland out of production. Although the White House and many congressional Democrats resisted all our previous efforts and are already... Read more »
You can watch my appearance on Face the Nation yesterday by clicking on this picture: Separately, if you missed it, you can read my recent essay on the California water crisis here. Read more »
As Governor Jerry Brown continues to wring his hands amid the California water crisis, I offer my take on the problem in an extended essay for Investor’s Business Daily. I’m sure the governor’s anguish about global warming and over-population is sincere, but those issues have little connection to the water crisis. The bottom line is this: the crisis is the direct result of a long-term plan by rad... Read more »
Investor's Business Daily In the summer of 2002, shortly before I was elected to Congress, I sat through an eye-opening meeting with representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council and several local environmental activist groups. Hoping to convince me to support various water restrictions, they argued that San Joaquin Valley farmers should stop growing alfalfa and cotton in order to sav... Read more »
