Those old enough to remember the movie "Chinatown" or recall Mark Twain's observation that "whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting" may take some interest in the Reuters story that tries to dissect the agencies and problems involved in providing water to a drought-stricken California.
It sounds as if there were plenty of room for corruption, big bucks and higher prices for those who depend on California produce.
My doctor is an old friend who used to be a lawyer. He was an advocate in the fight against the westlands water district who have very lucrative and seemingly eternal contracts for the control of vast supplies of water they sell for profit. They're essentially corporate farms who were responsible for the two headed ducks at the kesterson wildlife preserve selenium pollution the tax payers had to clean up. Forty years later nothing's changed there. But the frustration of it sent my friend to medical school where he can advocate for needle exchange programs and indigent medical care.
ReplyDeleteA new study links the drought to climate change. And in the capitalist marketplace that means profits. When i was young small towns provided public drinking fountains and restrooms. Now you have to buy a fraudulently packaged bottle of water to use the stores restroom. Oh well.