Seeing red

News blues

In the US, the summer COVID surge is predicted to get worse before it gets better. We the People can either take precautions and get vaccinated, or allow the surge to accelerate. Read >> 

Healthy planet, anyone?

With many of the world’s pollinator insects in decline, what does this mean for global food production? Just how much of the world’s food production is dependent on pollinators? 

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Seeing red:

• Why are patches of snow in the French alps taking on a garish red hue during the summer months? 
• The red tide has been an issue on Florida’s coast since 2017. This year, hundreds of coastal sharks are sheltering in Florida canals to avoid it.  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Departing my idyll on a relatively slow-moving tributary of the San Joaquin River to visit friends in the inner Bay Area, I noticed the next step in California regulators voting to restrict water access for thousands of California farmers amid severe drought.
Background: The Sacramento Delta – ‘the Delta” - is California’s largest surface water source, supplying two-thirds of Californians with at least some portion of their drinking water. The state is going through what is expected to be the second driest two-year period on record. April, May and June were the warmest and driest on record since 1896.

The California State Water Board unanimously agreed to issue an emergency order that bans some farmers from diverting water from rivers and streams in the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds to irrigate their crops.
Amid one of California’s worst droughts, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed has been suffering from low supply as demand continues to climb.
Under the new order, Californians who plan to divert more than 55 gallons per day from rivers or streams in this region must submit a petition and proposal to the state’s deputy director for approval. All water rights holders must also report their water use and submit a certification to comply with the new standards.
Any person, business or group that violates the order will be subject to possible penalties and fines. The water board said enforcement will be incremental and focused mainly on high-grade water violations that significantly impact water flow.
The order must be approved by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the Secretary of State before it becomes effective, according to a news release from the state water board. The regulations are expected to go into effect August 16.

Read more >> 

Any water from the Delta earmarked for drinking must first be thoroughly de-contaminated. It’s a long way from potable. My mistake, when I moved onto the houseboat, was drinking water that came out of taps. A day later, I vomited outside my office at work, into the garden of the hospital emergency department. Naturally, emergency workers noticed – and brought me inside for diagnosis. Cure? Get a clue, girl and do not drink Delta water. Now I carry potable water into the boat and carefully monitor its use.
Moreover, I hope the water board monitors  the effects of their diversion plans. Or I, and others, might end up living, not on houseboats, but on a tiny houses on deep mud.
Quelle horreur.