Article
Date: 11/22/2004
Friends
Of The River News And Alerts
Stop
The Raising of Shasta Dam
In the Monday,
November 22 edition of the Sacramento Bee, an article reporting
on the issue of raising the height of Shasta Dam appeared. The article,
entitled "Concrete Solution for Water?", described how
enlarging Shasta Dam could factor into a plan to provide new water
storage in the state.
you can find
a link to the article at:
http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/CaliforniaRiverNews.php
The article
is full of misinformation from the Senator. I’ve broken down
the key points here:
*Senator Feinstein
acknowledged the concerns of a local business owner that would be
negatively impacted by a dam raise by saying, "This is one
family with a private facility there and that's all I'm going to
say about that."
*Another unsettling
quote from the Senator was, "I believe it is a God-given right
as Californians to be able to water gardens and lawns."
*In addition
the reporter notes that the Senator was irritated with the "sudden
surge in opposition to the Shasta raise."
THE SENATOR
NEEDS A LESSON IN REALITY
*First off,
the Winnemen Wintu Tribe, Friends of the River, and many other groups
have long opposed a raise of Shasta Dam. The surge in oppostion
is not new, the drive to enlarge the dam is.
*Secondly, the
number of folks negatively affected is not limited to the one business
owner quoted in the article. Many local businesses in the recreation
and fishing industry would suffer. And for the Winnemem Tribe, their
losses transcend dollars. The last of their sacred sites could be
lost!
*As far as God-given
rights go, we all need to demand more humility from our elected
leaders who have so much insight into what the creator has given
us as a "right". We must search for solutions that are
ecologically sustainable and not assume that watering our lawns
is the creator’s top priority.
Please send
a letter to the editor of the Sacramento Bee and to the Senator
and raise these points.
Letters to the
editor are limited to 200 words and can be emailed to:
opinion@sacbee.com
My letter is pasted below:
In reference
to the November 22 article "Concrete Solution for Water?”
Several of the
quotes from the Senator reveal a widening gulf between her understanding
of environmental and cultural issues and those of her base.
By saying "...it
is a God given right as Californians to be able to water gardens
and lawns" Feinstein suggests she has particular insight
into the mind of the creator. I doubt that's true. This kind of
statement shows a blatant disregard for our collective need to find
solutions to water woes that provides for a healthy environment
and access to clean drinking water before we encourage folks to
water lawns in a semi-desert area.
By suggesting
that the opposition to a Shasta Dam raise is "one family with
a private facility" is misleading spin. Many area businesses
would be negatively impacted. In addition, the Winnemen Wintu Tribe
stands to lose the last of their sacred sites. For them, it would
be like permanently ripping pages from the Bible would be for Christians.
The Shasta Dam
raise is not about drinking water or local working farms, it’s
about exporting more Northern California water to corporate San
Joaquin Valley farms and greedy Southern California Developers through
the state’s complex plumbing system. Don’t buy
the scam.
S.
Craig Tucker, Ph.D.
Outreach Director
Friends of the River
916-442-3155 x205
craig@friendsoftheriver.org
www.friendsoftheriver.org
Pennies
on the dollar for fishing rods, reels, baits, lures, and more? You
be the judge!
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