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<DIV><FONT size=7><FONT face="Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt"><B> Anger alone won't solve the Valley's water
woes<BR></B></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT
face="Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><FONT size=6><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><BR></SPAN></FONT><FONT size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Published online on Saturday, Jun. 27,
2009<BR></SPAN></FONT><FONT size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><BR> By
Bill McEwen / The Fresno Bee (<FONT color=#0000ff><A
href="http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/mcewen/story/1501334.html">http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/mcewen/story/1501334.html</A></FONT>)<BR><BR> It
was a warm October night, and the hall on 13th Street in Firebaugh was packed
with people. They had come to voice frustration about the "man-made drought,"
fallowed land and lost jobs.<BR><BR> That was five years ago. Little has
changed.<BR><BR> Once-fertile land in the Westlands Water District is
ruined by salty irrigation water trapped between the soil surface and layers of
clay. Farmers scramble for water. Their deliveries are cut because of
below-average rainfall and attempts to protect the delta smelt and
salmon.<BR><BR> People, again, are mad as hell about lost jobs, food lines
and government indifference to poverty on the west side. And agriculture --
along with its political allies -- again is writing an angry narrative of fish
vs. people.<BR><BR> It's a sturdy tale, I admit. I've fallen for it a time
or two. This script reduces a complex situation to black hats and white hats.
And it inspires good people to take action on behalf of the hungry and
unemployed.<BR><BR> The problem is, life isn't simple. Anger alone isn't a
solution. And idle delta pumps are only partly responsible for 41% unemployment
in a town such as Mendota.<BR><BR> Largely unspoken is the fact that
foreign competition, retired land and a move to mechanically harvested crops are
reducing the need for seasonal farmworkers. Also unspoken is the paradox of the
Valley's reliance on agriculture: the world's most bountiful farm belt always
has had some of America's highest unemployment. Nine years ago, 30% of Mendota
was jobless. Six years ago, it was 36%.<BR><BR> Now, two questions: What
will it take for agriculture -- Westlands, in particular -- to shed its
reactive, panic-driven skin? And when will our political leadership join with
agriculture to focus on sustainable economic solutions?<BR><BR> Westlands,
as constituted, isn't sustainable. Not with the state continuing to grow in
population, and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta turned into an environmental
nightmare. The district never again will get all the water it
wants.<BR><BR> But, Steve Geil, president of Economic Development Corp.
serving Fresno County, says that the west side is poised for an economic
turnaround. He envisions energy "farms" -- solar, wind, thermal, biomass -- and,
eventually, a nuclear energy plant -- complementing traditional
agriculture.<BR> "Fresno is the only place in the world with these six
elements -- land, air, water, sun, a metropolitan city and a reliable,
convenient transportation system," Geil says. "We can be a center for clean
energy jobs."<BR><BR> Geil says the revolution already is taking shape on
the west side, with scores of well-paying jobs added to the Firebaugh/Mendota
area. He points out that farm jobs are increasing in Fresno County and that the
county economy "outperformed" the state economy in March and
April.<BR><BR> Granted, Geil is a salesman. But I'd rather buy into his
upbeat assessment of the future than to listen to more of the
doom-and-gloom-holding-on-to-yesterday mantra of the Westlands
crowd.<BR> For once, let's get ahead of the game. Let's think more, vent
less. Let's behave like adults instead of railing against ourselves and the
world.<BR><BR> "We have been a fragmented county for too long," Geil says.
"It's almost like we create our own problems. We have to move to
a</SPAN></FONT><FONT size=5><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> </SPAN></FONT><FONT
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">higher level of thinking, where we debate
our differences and then come together to support solutions."<BR><BR> The
columnist can be reached at<FONT color=#0000ff> <A
href="mailto:bmcewen@fresnobee.com">bmcewen@fresnobee.com</A> <A
href="mailto:bmcewen@fresnobee.com"><mailto:bmcewen@fresnobee.com></A>
</FONT>or (559) 441-6632. Check out his blog at fresnobeehive.com/news. Listen
to his talk show at noon daily on KYNO (AM
1300).<BR><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>