Weekly Summary: August 5, 2016
Twitter Storm Sums up Debate over Delta Tunnels and Job Creation Read the short Twitter exchange between Pacific Institute's Dr. Peter Gleick and Metropolitan Water District's Jeff Kightlinger.
New Revised Draft Biological Assessment of Delta Tunnels Proposal Released, Restore the Delta Reaction Reacting to the new document, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, said:
“While we are still working through the document, it is clear the increased presence of toxic algal blooms will be a threat to species, and, thus, public health. As it has been every step of the way, the devil is in the details. What the Brown Administration sells as solutions through public relations ends up being a no pass when it comes to real science. We will keep the public up to date on our findings.” Read press release.
Valley Economy blog: Some thoughts for Bruce Babbitt “In the 1990s, I was a graduate student writing a dissertation on the economics of the Endangered Species Act, and Bruce Babbitt was Secretary of the Interior actively utilizing habitat conservation plans as tools to negotiate agreements to more effectively implement the Endangered Species Act. I used to quote him in some of my presentations at the time, so I was fascinated and a bit encouraged to hear the news that Governor Brown has hired him to help with the delta tunnels (aka WaterFix) proposal. However, the quotes in this article in the Sac Bee make me a little concerned.
I trust that Secretary Babbitt will eventually be venturing out beyond the his state DWR office to get some alternative information and perspectives. Maybe he will even venture onto this blog? I offer these 5 thoughts to help Secretary Babbitt consider solutions to the Delta problem.” Read blog article.