California Water

Ian Grant
10/1/2014

California Water

     California has a recurring issue with its dwindling water supply. Certain measure have been taken in some areas to cut down on the usage of water. These cuts are beneficial for conserving water but has a negative affect on the users. One of these affected areas are the residents and farmers located near the Sacramento River. We will discuss how this demand for water and its availability have affected these citizens on the basis of water usage.

     For years, the Sacramento River has provided its users with plenty of water used for farming and other household uses. However, recent studies have shown that throughout the years the river and surrounding areas have been experiencing severe droughts due to over usage of the water supply. This issue has caused the California State Water Board to impose specific restrictions prohibiting hundreds of registered users to use to water from this river. These restrictions pertain to "junior water rights" holders (farmers/small city residents) rather than areas in the city of Sacramento because they hold "senior water rights."

     

     This issue also affects the wildlife near this river. The over consumption of water in this river could make the availability of water scarce for animals. This could throw off the balance of the food chain. If one plant or animal dies out from one of these droughts that could throw off the whole survival cycle amongst plants and animals. For example, if the water can't reach the plants then the plants will die, following the herbivores, and eventually the carnivores thus possibly permanently damaging that ecosystem.

     This problem has sparked a "call to action" amongst elected officials and certain measures including the restrictions on water usage have been imposed. 

"The latest action follows California Governor Jerry Brown's declaration of a state of drought emergency in January, and his call for additional cuts in water use in late April. The governor has called for all Californians to reduce water use by 20 percent. He has also asked for increased monitoring and has made it easier for users to make voluntary transfers of water, especially to farmers."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140529-sacramento-river-water-rights-california-drought/

     

This cause calls for supporters and active users affected by these droughts to abide by these imposed restrictions to preserve both the well being of the citizens and wildlife who are dependent on the rivers water supply. If both the government and the citizens can work together to tackle this water table problem these restrictions can be withheld and things will get back to normal. Until that time comes, it is up to the people to conserve what water they can and become very resource full on finding other methods for obtaining usable water.

Blog #1: Richard Perry

Ian Grant

9/3/14

Pols. 100W

Blog #1

Prof. Wood

Richard Perry Twitter Fiasco

     The world around us is constantly evolving. Social media and technology have allowed for a greater range of news coverage but in some cases, this expansion of media can have a negative effect on our views of politicians and the government. Texas Gov. Richard Perry is a victim to this negativity that comes with misusing social media. The issue focuses on how one post on social media can shape the views we have of our government and those whom we are choosing to represent the people.

     Gov. Perry reportedly deleted a post from his Twitter account last Sunday that highlighted the drunken driving arrest of Travis County Dist. Atty. Rosemary Lehmberg. This action resulted in the governor's recent indictment by a Travis County grand jury. The post by Perry stated "I don't always drive drunk at 3x the legal blood alcohol limit ... but when I do, I indict Gov. Perry for calling me out about it. I am the most drunk Democrat in Texas." The tweet from Perry's account was retweeted more than 600 times. Gov. Perry attempted to shield himself from facing scrutiny by claiming the post was “unauthorized” by him or his office but once something is posted to the internet it cannot be reversed or deleted.

    

     Gov. Perry was a firm supporter of Lehmberg and funded her political party; this all changed with the arrest of D.A. Lehmberg and bad blood between the two quickly arose. Perry requested for the resignation of Lehmberg feeling that she had lost “the public’s confidence” due to her irresponsibility. He threatened to veto her position in office if she didn’t step down. Lehmberg refused to quit after serving her time in jail and in return prompted Perry to follow through with his veto threat.

     At the time, another one of Perry’s “pet projects”, whom he was funding similar to his arrangement with Dist. Atty. Lehmberg, went under investigation by the public integrity unit. The state agency was called the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. A left-leaning government watchdog group called “Texans for Public Justice” filed a complaint against Perry resulting in his case being brought up in court.

     In the end, his choice to publicly humiliate another official backfired and may have cost Perry his whole career with him potentially being a candidate for the 2016 Presidential election. Social media is becoming ever more powerful with the evolution of technology. Users should be careful when posting on these types of websites because you never know how dramatic of a turn one “tweet” can have on your life.

kathryn.wood@sjsu.edu