When the Levee Breaks Update

I promised readers on CalForum that I would update this list with further information about what can be done concerning the problems with the Sacramento / San Joaquin Delta.

The first thing is to educate yourself. There are a number of sources, but I recommend the following places to start.

1. Just look at this map to see what we are talking about.

2. Read Bruce Babbitt's new book entitled "Cities in the Wilderness: a New Vistion of Land Use in America." Actually, just Chapter 1, which begins with a long story about the Everglades and then relates that to the Delta at the end of the Chapter. It is very good background because it gives an insider's view of how the Army Corps of Engineers and Congressional Support really function (or not). Especially challenging is the way that Congress likes to provide "projects" and the Corps of Engineers likes to run them. Together, that adds up to big, expensive solutions.

3. You can get an overview of what the State of California thinks it is doing from the web site of the California Bay-Delta Authority. However, it is my firm belief that the socalled CalFed is a part of the problem, and not driving toward a solution CalFed is only around two years of being fully funded and already they are talking about "revitalizing" it.

4. You get an environmental organization's view from the Natural Resources Defense Council's Green Gate site.


My next post in this series will contain a list of things that we can do to affect change.