(With expanded coverage of all the Western States)
by Patrick Ruckert
A Note to Readers
Like the Biden administration, the Gavin Newsom administration in California is spending billions it does not have. Meanwhile, both administrations, with their green agendas and woke policies leave Americans homeless, drug addicted and without the basic infrastructure that an advanced industrial economy requires.
The first item this week focuses on California’s tens of billions short on its proposed budget. Meanwhile, the State Water Board puts forward one policy after another that simply applies more and more conservation as the state’s response to now virtually perpetual water crisis the state is in.
And, even though the state is number one in attempting the impossible, that is a zero-carbon economy, it is failing at that, and higher electricity costs in the state are about to undermine the cost difference between EV’s and gas-powered vehicles.
Never mind that this winter and the last ensure water for at least this year without once again draining the reservoirs, and a adequate snowpack in the Sierra’s and the Rockies ensures that the Colorado River reservoirs will not face a game-breaking crisis.
The section titled, “California’s War Against Agriculture, and the Population, “ provides the details of the water policies, which are being fought against.
On the positive side, with more funding being made available for building the Sites Reservoir, a project proposed 50 years ago, construction will begin in 2026. The article, “Sites Reservoir Aims to Reshape California’s Water Landscape,” provides an excellent summary.
While the state maintains that it does want to promote the building of desalination plants, Newsome’s Coastal Commission nixed the proposed large plant in Huntington Beach more than a year ago. Attempting to recover some credibility, this report, “The potential for brackish desalination in California,” attempts to show that the state is serious.
This week’s report on the Colorado River is a mixture of articles on the healthy snowpack and the ongoing tense negotiations among the seven states that receive water from the river on how to divide up the rationing required in the years ahead.
The final section, hi-lighting a most important principle about human creativity and determination is an excellent article, “The Man-Made Miracle of SpaceX.”
