Manatees Too

Remember the spotted owl? Its "threatened extinction" was the reason that the environmentalist used to reduce drastically the cutting of timber in the northwest United States. How about the snail darter? Again a creature that was the poster child for shutting off water to the farmers of the Central Valley of California. And the peregrine falcon? Rachael Carson used this bird as a way of outlawing DDT (and in the process killing millions of humans with malaria, etc.) And the salmon ... goodbye to any new hydroelectric dams ... and even a sizable parcel of older ones.

Enter stage left the manatee ... which now it is believed relies on the warm water exiting from coal-fired power plants in Florida to ease the rigors of cold weather there ... see: Miami Herald Article. But wait! This can't be! If the tree-huggers were to be consistent, they would fight our fearless leader's war on such "environmental hazards" as the use of coal to produce electricity.

But are they?   [... crickets ....]   One can only assume that these other animals were really incidental to the real hidden agendas of those who knew that they knew what was best for the rest of us.

California Dreamin'

San Bernardino, Stockton, Mammoth Lakes, Compton … this is a list of the cities/towns in California that have recently gone bankrupt … or, are about to slip under the fiscal waves (see: Fox News Story). Expect many more … and, very possibly, the state of California itself will give up the ghost. Yes, spending and accounting shenanigans are partly to blame for these problems, but may I suggest a much more structural issue? Two of these bergs are in the Central Valley, the vegetable/fruit basket to this nation. Or, at least, it used to be. The economic health of this region has been greatly sacrificed to save the Delta Smelt, a small endangered fish that has caused our federal government to impose onerous water restrictions on the farmers there (see: Central Valley Water Crisis). Without water, crops won’t grow … and, without crops, farmers are impoverished … and, without agricultural income, taxes can’t be paid … and, without tax income, bergs go bankrupt. It’s that simple.

And since Central Valley agriculture was a large part of California’s fiscal strength, this short-sighted eco-suicide is one reason that the whole Golden State itself is on the ropes. Another reason is that oil exploration and extraction in California has been seriously curtailed by these same tree-hugging limousine liberals who claim to care for the downtrodden … while, at the same time, trodding them down. Will Governor Moonbeam recognize and remedy these problems? Keep California dreamin' …