Massive Economic Damage From California Draught Will Spread Across the Country

Republican Plan – Do Nothing or Make it Worse, Your Choice

Those who do not farm in California’s Central Valley probably think they are ok, that their economic well being will not be affected if that area continues to suffer from the devastating draught in that area.  They are wrong.

California Farming

Yes the residents will be among the hardest hit.

Less than a month ago, Mr. Sumner and other experts estimated that 300,000 acres of rich farmland in the region would go unplanted. Now, he has nearly doubled that estimate.

“I haven’t learned anything yet that tells me it is less severe than we might have hoped,” he said.

The drought could translate into an $11 billion loss in annual state revenue from agriculture, according to the California Farm Water Coalition, an industry advocacy group. And in the Central Valley, where farming and food processing provide nearly 40 percent of all jobs, the most acute pain is most likely to be felt among low-level employees, who scrape by with seasonal work.

But unless you are someone who does not purchase food, well, you will also see economic harm.

As for relief, the options are limited and of course Republicans are not helping, as usual.

But with Republicans in the House pushing instead for an overhaul of environmental protections of the delta, there are few immediate solutions in sight for the Central Valley, a massive stretch of land in the middle of the state that provides nearly half of the nation’s produce. State officials have already said that they will not be able to offer any water to the farmers through California’s vast network of canals. And federal officials are expected to announce that their web of reservoirs will not provide any water this year either, leaving thousands of farmers to rely exclusively on private wells.

And no, no one can say that this is the result of global warming, of excessive dumping of carbon into the atmosphere, of mismanagement of the environment.  But gosh, doesn’t it sort of lean that way?  And doesn’t it mean that maybe, just maybe doing something about climate change other than calling it a liberal plot for government to take over the world just might help?  This is critical, do any of us want to see the effects of Rush Limbaugh not getting enough to eat?