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Alex Breitler
A native of Benicia, he lives in Stockton with his wife, Ann (a Record copyeditor who fixes all of his mistakes). He has been writing mostly about natural resources since 2003, first in Redding and now in Stockton. He is on the lookout for a giant ... Read FullCategories
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Monthly Archives: December 2008
Potato, pot-ah-to
Two headlines tell a seemingly different story behind yesterday’s snow surveys:
“Sierra snowpack thicker than last year” (San Diego Union Tribune)
“Sierra snowpack below normal, surveyors find” (San Francisco Chronicle)
Both are accurate. That’s how bad the water picture is in California.
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Snow check
It’s that time again: State water wonks will head for the hills Tuesday to take their first official measurements of the snowpack, an early indication of how bad the drought is and our chances of busting out.
Those chances are slim, despite recent storms. It’ll take more than one wet winter, officials say, to fill our reservoirs [...]
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A holiday poem
I take my leave this Christmas Eve with five green tips to share
If by chance, by happenstance, for nature you do care:
First, think carefully before you buy that trendy gift
Tomorrow it goes out of date and in a landfill sits
Wrapping paper is a waste, we all should save a tree
By using fabric, cloth or linen, it’s responsible [...]
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A walrus… quoting the Beatles
An endangered species sent me an email today. How ’bout that!
Read it verbatim (the fifth graf is where it gets really good; this walrus knows his rock and roll):
Hello Alex
I am the walrus, a pacific walrus, to be exact. As one of the largest sea mammals with these impressive large tusks and thick hide, I may [...]
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Enlightening
So the economy sucks and you haven’t put up your Christmas lights. Every one of those shining (or, in my case, blinking) bulbs is like another cut on your bleeding budget.
The California Energy Commission says you could save money in the long run — and salvage some holiday cheer — by using LED lights. You’ll [...]
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From the Bay to the White House
San Francisco-based Baykeeper, the parent organization of the now-defunct Deltakeeper, reports today that one of its board members has been named an environmental adviser to President-elect Barack Obama.
Nancy Sutley will serve as chief of the White House Council of Environmental Quality, Baykeeper said.
In short, she’ll be instrumental in “reversing harmful policies established under the [...]
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More Mountain House
Read the letter that a lawyer for Gerry Kamilos sent Delta College, warning that the developer will seek recovery of at least $16 million if the college backs out of Mountain House.
UPDATE 6 p.m. Wednesday:
New Delta Board of Trustees President Steve Castellanos reacted today to the county Board of Supervisors’ warning Tuesday that Delta had best [...]
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Drain those pools?
Reading more about the state’s water woes in today’s Record, 63-year-old Edward Garrison of Stockton has an idea:
Pass a law prohibiting private ownership of swimming pools.
I know what you’re thinking: He’s gone off the deep end. But Garrison, who grew up in the Bay Area, lived for some time in So Cal and said water [...]
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Delta news today
UPDATE 2:30 p.m. Here is a link to the new report (warning: 410 pages): http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/delta_update.htm
Today is the court-imposed deadline for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to release new permits for the state and federal export pumps near Tracy.
A federal judge threw out the old permit, and imposed temporary cutbacks in August 2007. Today we’ll [...]
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Rotten-egg poachers