(With expanded coverage of all the Western States)
by Patrick Ruckert
www.californiadroughtupdate.org/20230803-California-Water-and-Infrastructure-Report.pdf
A Note to Readers
Both policy makers and the news media, for several weeks now, have been very quiet. Little to no discussion of serious proposals for dealing with the whipsaw affect that droughts and atmospheric rivers have on the state and the region.
Not unexpected, I think, but even during the worst of the crisis on the Colorado River last year such discussion was widespread and even interesting.
So we are stuck for another week with news items and just a few other stories of interest.
The report this week begins, as usual with the California US Drought Monitor map, which does not yet reflect that the state is drying out. I am sure the drought and dryness will accelerate in coming weeks.
Those critical of agriculture’s use of water often cite the growing of alfalfa, especially in the Imperial Valley and in Arizona, since it does take a lot of water to grow it. We have this week an excellent defense of the growing of that crop.
Under the title, “Fire Season Is Here; But the Slowest Start to Fires in Decades,” we have two articles. One on why the state has been spared so far this year from the usual number and intensity of wild fires.
The second is on this year’s largest fire so far, the York Fire, which a few days ago was at 80,000 acres. The fire is in the eastern part of the state near Las Vegas and has spread into Nevada.
“A Nice Headline, But the Real Story Is Ignored” reports on how hydroelectric power saved the state during the recent heatwave from blackouts. The real story is that the insane green energy policy of California has made the power grid vulnerable, and it is only with luck that blackouts are avoided.
This week’s report concludes with “Finally, a New Nuclear Power Plant in the U.S. Goes Online,” and reports on Georgia Power’s Vogtle Unit 3 power plant entering commercial operation. That plant is the first ‘newly constructed’ U.S. nuclear power plant in decades.
