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The Congress Created Dust Bowl
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What is the Congress Created Dust Bowl? Due to drought and Federal legislation water has been turned off to farmers in Southern California creating what farmers are calling the Congress Created Dust Bowl of 2009. This California dust bowl could effect us all by causing higher food prices. Are valley farmers in Southern California killing whales? A new regulation announced by the Obama Administration on June 5, 2009 will reduce valley water supplies by as much as 500,000 acre feet – enlarging the ongoing devastation associated with current shortages. In a briefing for Congressional offices, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that the operation of both federal and state water projects are contributing to the possible extinction of salmon, sturgeon, southern resident killer whale, and steelhead. The new reductions will be on top of water cut-backs associated with the Delta Smelt and the San Joaquin River Settlement. Delta pumps shut down Early in 2009, the Bureau of Reclamation, for the first time in the history of the CVP, projected zero water allocations for agricultural water service contractors on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley. Despite adjustments to provide token water deliveries, no meaningful relief has come. As a consequence, as much as 500,000 acres will be forced out of production and, according to a recent forecast by economists at the University of California, Davis, more than 40,000 farm workers will lose their jobs. Moreover, these job losses will occur in poor, rural communities, such as the City of Mendota, which already has unemployment rates in excess of 40%, and these communities are the least capable of reacting to this economic devastation. Despite these harsh realities, we see no assistance from the state or federal government. Without action, the situation in the San Joaquin Valley will evolve from one of desperation to one of chaos.
Click here for a time line on the Congress Created Dust Bowl.
Wait a minute. Don’t a lot of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables we buy from US grocery stores come from California? Maybe this Congress Created Dust Bowl is not just a problem for farmers in Southern California. Maybe we should call it America's Dust Bowl of 2009.
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Absolute Poverty poverty from Wikipedia)
In developing countries, poor and needy people
spend up to 80 % of their disposable income
on food.
There is no buffer to modify their food
costs. This is part of an article from the July issue of Spotlight on Orphans newsletter. Read Spotlight on Orphans newsletters to see how Hearth to Hearth Ministries is fighting poverty in Africa by working to feed hungry children. The picture of the little African boy eating bread is the picture we have chosen for our icon. Poverty in America
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Those who always lived on the
edge of starvation have been tipped over
that edge by spiraling prices. Economic
theory known as Engel’s Law notes that
the proportion of a nation’s income spent
on food is a good measure of the nation’s
welfare. Contact Us Sitemap Privacy Policy