Obama: CA Central Valley drought due to climate change

Snip…
Actually, the problem for Central Valley farmers is that their water got taken from them by a federal judge, who put a baitfish ahead of human beings. Central Valley’s water-management system was designed to deal with droughts that last as long as five years, but the reservoirs that held its lifeblood got emptied into the ocean to rescue the Delta smelt. It began five years ago, and as Investors Business Daily reports, the locals remember it better than Obama does:

Read more at Hot Air Read More......

Super Bowl Parody Ad

God Didn’t Just Make Farmers. He Made Liberals, Too. Watch This Super Bowl Parody Ad. Read More......

WT: Feds bow to pressure, kill child farm-labor rules

[...] While labor officials said their goal was to reduce the fatality rate for child farmworkers, the proposal had become a popular political target for Republicans, who called it an impractical, heavy-handed regulation that ignored the reality of small farms. ✧ “It’s good the Labor Department rethought the ridiculous regulations it was going to stick on farmers and their families,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican. “To even propose such regulations defies common sense, and shows a real lack of understanding as to how the family farm works.” Read more at the Washington Times... Read More......

California high-speed rail to cut through San Joaquin farmland

FRESNO, Calif. -- California's ambitious plan for high-speed trains is drawing sharp criticism from San Joaquin Valley farmers who fear the project would carve their property into useless pieces, disrupt their work and drive down land values. Read more at Standard Examiner Read More......

What Do Ethanol Subsidies Have to Do with Tax Cuts?

HEARTLAND INSTITUTE, 12/15/2010 by Steve Stanek - EXERPTS: A vote to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts could happen Monday, and the wheeling and dealing to win the necessary votes includes agreements to continue multi-billion-dollar boondoggles. One of the worst would be continuing subsidies to the ethanol industry.

[SNIP] The truth is there’s lots of science that says ethanol produces more of those emissions than straight gasoline. And, oh yes, ethanol has about one-third less energy than gasoline, so fuel with ethanol in it reduces gas mileage, which means we spend more to run our vehicles.

Ah, but ethanol in the U.S. is made primarily from corn, and what’s more American than corn?! It’s a mainstay crop of farmers across the country because of federal agriculture subsidies. Who could say ‘no’ to raising a crop the government pays you to grow even as it pays other people to turn the crop you were paid to grow into a lousy motor fuel? Read more at Heartland...

Call your legislators! --bc Read More......