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Topic: California drought-water sold to China

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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26124989
Post Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:28 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

California drought: Why farmers are 'exporting water' to China

By Alastair Leithead
BBC News, Los Angeles


19 February 2014


During California's worst drought on record, some farmers are using precious water to grow hay that is then shipped to China


While historic winter storms have battered much of the US, California is suffering its worst drought on record. So why is America's most valuable farming state using billions of gallons of water to grow hay - specifically alfalfa - which is then shipped to China?

The reservoirs of California are just a fraction of capacity amid the worst drought in the state's history.

"This should be like Eden right now," farmer John Dofflemyer says, looking out over a brutally dry, brown valley as his remaining cows feed on the hay he's had to buy in to keep them healthy.

In the dried-up fields of California's Central Valley, farmers like Dofflemyer are selling their cattle. Others have to choose which crops get the scarce irrigation water and which will wither.

"These dry times, this drought, has a far-reaching impact well beyond California," he said as the cattle fell in line behind his small tractor following the single hay bale on the back.

"We have never seen anything like this before - it's new ground for everybody."

Landscapes of dry Tulare County in Central California (left) and lush Imperial Valley in Southern California (right)

The drought-stricken Central Valley (left) contrasts with the lush Imperial Valley, which gets water through a canal from the Colorado river

California is the biggest agricultural state in the US - half the nation's fruit and vegetables are grown here.

Farmers are calling for urgent help, people in cities are being told to conserve water and the governor is warning of record drought.

But at the other end of the state the water is flowing as the sprinklers are making it rain in at least one part of southern California.

The farmers are making hay while the year-round sun shines, and they are exporting cattle-feed to China.

The southern Imperial Valley, which borders Mexico, draws its water from the Colorado river along the blue liquid lifeline of the All American Canal.

It brings the desert alive with hundreds of hectares of lush green fields - much of it alfalfa hay, a water-hungry but nutritious animal feed which once propped up the dairy industry here, and is now doing a similar job in China.

"A hundred billion gallons of water per year is being exported in the form of alfalfa from California," argues Professor Robert Glennon from Arizona College of Law.

"It's a huge amount. It's enough for a year's supply for a million families - it's a lot of water, particularly when you're looking at the dreadful drought throughout the south-west."

Manuel Ramirez from K&M Press is an exporter in the Imperial Valley, and his barns are full of hay to be compressed, plastic-wrapped, packed directly into containers and driven straight to port where they are shipped to Asia and the Middle East.

This image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows snow and water equivalents in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California abnormally low for January 2014 compared to the same time in 2013
"The last few years there has been an increase in exports to China. We started five years back and the demand for alfalfa hay has increased," he says.

"It's cost effective. We have abundance of water here which allows us to grow hay for the foreign market."

Cheap water rights and America's trade imbalance with China make this not just viable, but profitable.

"We have more imports than exports so a lot of the steamship lines are looking to take something back," Glennon says. "And hay is one of the products which they take back."

It's now cheaper to send alfalfa from LA to Beijing than it is to send it from the Imperial Valley to the Central Valley.

"We need to treat the resource as finite, which it is," he says. "Instead, most of us in the states, we think of water like the air, it's infinite and inexhaustible, when for all practical purposes it's finite and it's exhaustible."

Piles of hay behind 'Product for China only' sign
Alfalfa farmer Ronnie Langrueber believes he's doing his bit to help the American economy out of recession.

"In my opinion it's part of the global economy," he says, adding that only a fraction of the hay goes to China.

"We have to do something to balance that trade imbalance, and alfalfa is a small part we can do in the Imperial Valley to help that."

He believes the whole "exporting water" argument is nonsense - that all agricultural exports contain water - and that there are few better uses for it.

"Is it more efficient to use water for a golf course for the movie stars?" Langrueber said.

"Or is it more efficient for farmers to use it to grow a crop and export it and create this mass economic engine that drives the country?"

Japan, Korea and the United Arab Emirates all buy Californian hay. The price is now so high that many local dairy farmers and cattle ranchers can't afford the cost when the rains fail and their usual supplies are insufficient.

But they have to buy what they can.

Cattle rancher John Dofflemyer certainly sees it as exporting water abroad - he resents the fact hay is sent overseas.

Hay trucks are a common sight heading north up the road from the Imperial Valley - despite the high prices, the cattle farmers have to buy what they can.

Even with recent rains in northern California there's still a critical shortage of water.

Drought is often an excuse for politicians to build dams or reduce environmental controls, but it's no long-term fix.

In those places awash with water - where global trade distorts the local market - decisions need to be made by those without something to gain.

That's where it gets even more complicated.
Post Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:31 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/10/bottled-water-drought-california_n_7028058.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000044
Post Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:33 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEFL8ElXHaU

Nestles says water I not a human right and they should sell it. They won lawsuits to bottle Ice mountain in Michigan despite residents filing a lawsuit. Under several names they bottle water in drought stricken California.
Post Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:43 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20150412-column.html
Post Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:50 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

The water wars in Flint

By Jack Lessenberry • Mar 26, 2015

2:53

The city contracted with the Karegnondi Water Authority to supply it with water from Lake Huron. But the system to do that won’t be complete until sometime next year.




If you don’t live in the Flint area, you may be wondering what on earth is going on with the politicians and the water. For many years, Flint, like many other communities, bought its water from Detroit. Then, less than a year ago, they switched to save money.



The city contracted with the Karegnondi Water Authority to supply it with water from Lake Huron. But the system to do that won’t be complete until sometime next year.

In the meantime, Flint began taking water from the Flint River. That is when the problems broke out. Some residents who drink and bathe in this water say it makes them sick and gives them rashes. They report it has an oily film on it and stains their drains. Mayor Dayne Walling has said there’s nothing wrong.

But General Motors disagrees. They say this Flint River water almost immediately began rusting and corroding their pipes. And GM promptly abandoned the city water system and connected to one run by a nearby township.

Tests have shown that Flint water is free of coliform bacteria, which is a good thing. What’s not so good is that the water also carries low levels of a by-product of the disinfectants used to sterilize it. Years of exposure to it could cause an elevated risk of cancer, plus damage to the liver, kidneys or central nervous system.

So it probably isn’t any great surprise that earlier this week, Flint city council voted, seven to one, to switch back to Detroit’s water system. However, they have no real power.

Flint is currently under the city’s fourth emergency manager, Gerald Ambrose, and he opposes the move, as does Mayor Dayne Walling. The opponents are essentially legally powerless.

But that doesn’t mean politically powerless. There will come a day when local control will be restored. Yesterday, I talked to Pat Clawson, a former investigative reporter for CNN and a civic watchdog who lives near Flint.

Five years ago, he discovered that former Governor Jennifer Granholm was giving nine million dollars in tax credits to a convicted embezzler out on parole with a phony scheme to sell sanitary supplies to Africa.

Clawson told me that the Flint council was right to attempt to switch back to Detroit water, that their unhappy city was the victim of years of incompetence and corruption.

He’d like to see a new emergency manager without any ties to the existing factions or any stake in the game. Clawson said that while Detroit indeed wants to charge Flint twelve million dollars a year for water, he thinks the city is paying an equivalent sum to treat what comes out of the Flint River.

You have to feel sorry for Flint, a once-bustling metropolis filled with people holding good-paying General Motors jobs. But we also should give some thought to the nature of water. Should it be a human right, something as free as fresh air?

Do we have the luxury of allowing every community to decide where and how to get and treat its water?

The only thing I am sure of is this: Flint isn’t going to be the last community with a water problem. We might want to think about a statewide plan for how to proceed.

Jack Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's political analyst. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.
Post Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:22 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://trib.al/UwYTpny

Group seeks to stop Nestlé’s water-bottling operations


By Jim Steinberg, The Sun


Posted: 04/10/15, 7:11 PM PDT | Updated: 6 days ago
2 Comments



An online community group says it has collected more than 135,000 signatures to demand that Nestlé discontinue water bottling operations in this state under the Arrowhead and Pure Life brands.

If Nestlé, which operates three of five statewide water bottling operations in Southern California, does not shut down, the group, called Courage Campaign, wants the State Water Resources Control Board to step in and close the bottling operations.

“Taking the groundwater, packaging it and selling it is not a good use of water,” said Eddie Kurtz, executive director of the Courage Campaign.




“It’s time that Nestlé did the right thing and put people over profits by immediately halting their water bottling operations in Cabazon and across the state,” Kurtz said.

Nestlé Water Ltd. has 1,700 employees in California and in addition to Cabazon, has bottling plants in Ontario, Los Angeles, Livermore and Sacramento, spokeswoman Jane Lazgin said.

The water used by the two brands in California in a year is equivalent to the amount used by two average California golf courses annually, she said.

“This is less than a fraction of a percent of the state’s water use,” she said.




For more than 120 years, the Arrowhead bottled water brand has been fueled by spring water from the San Bernardino Mountains and other springs around the state, Lazgin said.

“Those springs are professionally managed by geologists, so they will last a long time,” Lazgin said.

Kurtz said that the groundwater Nestlé is selling is like tapping “a savings account that has built up over thousands of years,” adding that California needs to “lead the way” to stop a frivolous use of water during this time of drought.




“Any other form of liquid, like soda or beer, would require more water to produce,” Lazgin said. “And it would be less healthy, because of calories,” she said.

“Everybody can do better,” Lazgin said on the topic of water conservation. “We have a shared concern and are looking to further ways to conserve.”

Looking big picture, Kurtz said that shutting down Nestlé won’t solve California’s water problems.

But the petition-gathering exercise is a stepping-stone to a more ambitious, unspecified grass-roots campaign to be announced later, he said.






The State Water Resources Control Board does not regulate water bottling operations, a spokesman said.

“It’s important to note bottled water is an important drought-relief tool being used to quickly solve distressed water supply issues unrelated to the production of the bottled water in another area,” said Tim Moran, spokesman for the State Water Resources Control Board.



About the Author

Jim Steinberg
Jim Steinberg covers environment and healthcare issues for The Sun and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Reach the author at jim.steinberg@langnews.com or follow Jim on Twitter: @JamesDSteinberg.


Full bio and more articles by Jim Steinberg
Post Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:52 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://www.npr.org/2015/04/17/400377057/as-lake-mead-levels-drop-the-west-braces-for-bigger-drought-impact?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150417
Post Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:08 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://trib.al/UwYTpny

Sign the petition: Demand Nestlé stop bottling California’s water
Click here to add your name



Daily Kos may send you periodic updates; you can unsubscribe at any time. This app asks for access to your friend list to make it easier for you to share this action if you choose; your friend list is never stored. If you choose not to authorize the ActionSprout app after clicking above, just hit cancel and you can still sign the petition.


California’s drought is so dire we've been warned there is only a one-year supply left in the reservoirs. While Governor Jerry Brown recently ordered the state’s first water restrictions, Nestlé continues pumping water to sell for profit. In Southern California, the company has been bottling national forest water with a permit that expired 27 years ago.





This has to stop. At a time when residents are expected to watch their water use, companies like Nestlé can’t get away with bottling our most precious resource—without regulation—for profit.




Sign the petition to Governor Jerry Brown: California must stop Nestlé from bottling water during the drought.


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Post Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:24 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEFL8ElXHaU

Nestle CEO: Water Is Not A Human Right, Should Be Privatized
Post Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:30 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

http://theantimedia.org/5-corporations-sucking-california-dry-during-the-drought/



Jake Anderson
April 20, 2015

(ANTIMEDIA) As most people in the country know by now, California is currently suffering from a severe, record-breaking drought. In fact, it’s the worst drought in 1,200 years. While Governor Jerry Brown recently issued a mandate for people to start conserving water, large corporations use up and waste vastly more water than individuals and small businesses, often in ways that are detrimental to the environment.



Let’s take a look at five of the most massive corporations in California that are the worst culprits when it comes to wasting water:

1. Nestle

Nestle, once mainly known for its chocolate bars, is now becoming increasingly notorious for the way it uses up water in its bottled water products. Nestle, of course, has been criticized for using up water in drought-stricken third world countries. However, it is also doing this right at home in California. For example, one of the places where Nestle gets water is on the Morongo Reservation in the Cabazon region of the state. This is an area where groundwater levels of water have been steadily declining in recent years.

2. Harris Ranch

Harris Cattle Ranch is the largest producer of beef in California. At last count, it produced more than 150 million pounds of beef per year. While much of the attention on conserving water is focused on individuals, the fact is that more than 90% of the water used in California is used by agriculture. Cows consume more than twenty times as much water as humans. Crops such as soybeans and corn, which are heavily subsidized by the government, also use up massive amounts of water.




3. Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum is one of the oil companies in California that use enhanced oil recovery techniques, more commonly known as ‘fracking’. This is a practice that has become increasingly controversial due to potential health risks and suspected fracking-related seismic activity. Fracking also uses up large amounts of water. According to one estimate, a single well may use more than 5 million gallons of water to extract resources. Recent evidence also suggests that fracking companies have dumped waste water into aquifers, which contaminates the water with pollutants such as heavy metals and radiation.

4. California Dairies, Inc.

California Dairies, Inc. is the largest dairy processing cooperative in the state, producing 43% of California’s milk and 9% of the milk of the entire country. Along with beef, dairy production is another practice that uses up incredible amounts of water. It actually takes as much as 30 gallons of water to produce one gallon of milk.

5. Paramount Farming

Paramount Farming is the largest producer in the nation of nuts such as almonds and pistachios. Almond production alone uses up more water than is used by both residents and businesses in Los Angeles and San Francisco combined. Most nuts grown in California are exported to various parts of the world.

California’s drought is a serious and complex issue. Solving it will take an effort on the part of many people, including individuals, politicians and businesses. When studying this issue, however, it’s important not to ignore the considerably more massive part played by large companies. We have seen what happens on a geopolitical level when vital resources begin to dwindle, and I’m not talking about Frank Herbert’s Dune, which features a planet in which the scarcity of water has made it the most precious of substances. People can help to conserve water in many ways. More importantly, in addition to using less water with everyday tasks, people can pay more attention to what type of products they buy and consume. If you are interested in the macro view of water conservation, consider boycotting the companies and industries listed above.






This article (5 Corporations Sucking California Dry During the Drought) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TheAntiMedia.org. Tune in to the Anti-Media radio show Monday through Friday @ 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Image credit: Peripitus. Help us fix our typos: edits@theantimedia.org.
Post Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:35 pm 
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