JANUARY 1, 2012 |
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Happy
New
Year!! |
California Bill of Rights |
www.CABillofRights.org
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Today's guest: Oscar
Braun |
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OSCAR
BRAUN |
About Oscar A
Braun
Oscar
is behind the initiative that will repeal many of the States Laws
that have resulted in infringement of Rights by the Regulatory
Agencies like the EPA. The controversy of the water being cut off to
the Joaquin Valley to save the Delta Smelts triggered this Proposal.
Oscar holds an EPA certification for watershed stewardship and is
considered an expert of the CEQA/NEPA environmental review process
and environmental mitigation.
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California has a new
endangered species on its hands in the San Joaquin Valley—farmers.
Thanks to environmental regulations designed to protect the likes of
the three-inch long delta smelt, one of America's premier
agricultural regions is suffering in a drought made worse by federal
regulations. |
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Video:
What We Believe
/ PART 4: NATURAL LAW |
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ALSO BE SURE TO
SUPPORT THE "CA BILL OF RIGHTS INITIATIVE" CLICK HERE |
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The state's water emergency
is unfolding thanks to the latest mishandling of the Endangered
Species Act. Last December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
issued what is known as a "biological opinion" imposing water
reductions on the San Joaquin Valley and environs to safeguard the
federally protected hypomesus transpacificus, a.k.a., the delta
smelt. As a result, tens of billions of gallons of water from
mountains east and north of Sacramento have been channeled away from
farmers and into the ocean, leaving hundreds of thousands of acres
of arable land fallow or scorched.
For this, Californians can thank the usual environmental suspects,
meaning lawyers. Last year's government ruling was the result of a
2006 lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and
other outfits objecting to increased water pumping in the smelt
vicinity. In June, things got even dustier when the National Marine
Fisheries Service concluded that local salmon and steelhead also
needed to be defended from the valley's water pumps. Those
additional restrictions will begin to effect pumping operations next
year. |
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Video:
Oscar Braun - California needs a 'California
Bill of Rights' |
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The result has already been
devastating for the state's farm economy. In the inland areas
affected by the court-ordered water restrictions, the jobless rate
has hit 14.3%, with some farming towns like Mendota seeing
unemployment numbers near 40%. Statewide, the rate reached 11.6% in
July, higher than it has been in 30 years. In August, 50 mayors from
the San Joaquin Valley signed a letter asking President Obama to
observe the impact of the draconian water rules firsthand.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that he "doesn't have the
authority to turn on the pumps" that would supply the delta with
water, or "otherwise, they would be on." He did, however, have the
ability to request intervention from the Department of Interior.
Under a provision added to the Endangered Species Act in 1978 after
the snail darter fiasco, a panel of seven cabinet officials known as
a "God Squad" is able to intercede in economic emergencies, such as
the one now parching California farmers. Despite a petition with
more than 12,000 signers, Mr. Schwarzenegger has refused that
remedy.
The issue now turns to the Obama Administration and the courts,
though the farmers have so far found scant hope for relief from the
White House. In June, the Administration denied the governor's
request to designate California a federal disaster area as a result
of the drought conditions, which U.S. Drought Monitor currently
lists as a "severe drought" in 43% of the state. Doing so would
force the Administration to acknowledge awkward questions about the
role its own environmental policies have played in scorching the
Earth." |
Wall Street Journal |
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