Water and almond trees: Letters to the editor, Aug. 8, 2021

Water, almonds and ag consumption

Regulation of agricultural ground water won’t begin until 2025. Water is pumped from our underground aquifer at a rate that is causing the San Joaquin Valley to sink and damage infrastructure.

Water storage is not the answer to drought because right now there is no rain or enough snowmelt. We depend on groundwater.

There is enough groundwater for some farming, but not almonds or dairy. California produces 80% of the world’s almonds, and 70% of that is exported. The problem is that almonds take 1,900 gallons of water to make 1 pound of almonds. In contrast, oranges take 11 gallons to make 1 pound. In the past 20 years, Big Ag has doubled almond production. Of the 1.5 million acres of California almonds, Tulare County has 40,000 acres.

In reality, we are exporting our water. California’s farm economy is less than 2% of the state’s economy. We need to grow products that take less water. Almond production in California uses more water than is consumed by California’s two largest cities combined. It’s time to face this crisis.

Do we need to feed the world almonds and lose our water at the same time?

Wear a mask, save a schoolchild

 I respect everyone’s right to their own opinion. The cry for no masks for students of Clovis Unified is not something that I support. Like everyone else, I have prudently worn a mask to protect myself, my young grandchildren (who I care for daily), and my community. I still have not dined inside a restaurant, and I plan shopping needs to limit exposure.

Others may feel that they have a right to have their children not wear a mask at school. But they do not have a right to deny my grandson protection from an infectious disease that has killed over 600,000 Americans. Wearing a mask will keep all of our children safe.

Please, please keep the mask on. The life of a child may be saved if you do.

Photo makes indelible impression

A picture is better than words. A recent Sunday paper showed Fresno City Council member Miguel Arias and his son Diego, 9, touring a homeless encampment. What caught my eye was the expression on Diego’s face; of surprise, sadness, disgust, and fear, as he leans back , while his father puts his arm around his shoulder. What was the purpose of his father taking him to the encampment, who knows. But it brought memories to me as a child in the ‘50’s when I dropped out of high school for a month. My father took me to a farm labor camp and showed me the conditions of the field workers staying in cabins. With dirt, sweat, and the dirty appearances of the workers, as they picked grapes in the hot sun.

“Is this what you want to do for the rest of your life?” he asked me.

The encampment on the picture looks like a refugee camp in time of war. It looks like a concentration camp as my uncle described them during the second world war against the Nazis. It also looks like some of the villages during the Vietnam War after they had been overrun by the enemy.

Headline on crime story off mark

 In a recent Sunday edition, a criminal justice article bore the headline, “Fresno man convicted in shooting death walks free due to time served.” But for a few exceptions not relevant here, all convicted persons who have finished serving their “time” are released. That’s the law.

The phrase “walks free” suggests that the defendant somehow cheated the system. He was in fact convicted by a jury of a lesser offense than the one the district attorney charged. He was charged with first-degree murder, the most serious homicide offense, but the District Attorney clearly had trouble proving it as the defendant was convicted the least culpable form of homicide, involuntary manslaughter.

The judge, by saying the defendant was “lucky,” denigrated the jury’s work — determining the truth of the matter — which found him far less culpable. The headline should read “DA fails to prove overcharged case.”

 Lastly, as a criminal appeals lawyer, I know that most defendants find jail time far harder to serve than prison time. So how about “Man serves sentence prescribed by law.” How’s that?

Comparisons result in an error

Diane Pearce argues (July 18) against Clovis school teachers “needing” a union. She adduces data demonstrating that since students in the Clovis Unified School District are way out in front of Fresno students, unions are not only useless but probably an impediment. Clovis would be unwise to acquire a teachers union since 84% of its students rate above average according to “ greatschools.org“ compared to the measly 14% above average of Fresno schools.

No surprise here. The positive correlation of academic achievement and the standard of living (read: average income) of the communities wherein the schools are located is obvious. Clovis is white and relatively well-off and is clearly determined to keep it that way. Fresno is poor and is an unmelting-pot of races and ethnicities.

To compare the two school districts is a classic illustration of the error of matching apples and oranges, or to make the logical fallacy more obvious, it’s like comparing Fresno State and Harvard.

Or since Pearce is a Republican, she might argue it’s more fair to compare like to like. So let’s put two Republicans against each other, Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump. How would that work out? Fair to both?

Need to support Valley values

As many Central Valley voters are aware, we are conservative on many of the issues. We are pro-life and pro-family, and we're comfortable with this, and we should be.

I recently received a letter from congressman David Valadao in which he writes, “As a Catholic, and a father of three, I believe that every human life is precious and should be protected at every stage. . . . It is the responsibility of those of us in government to give unborn children a voice and protect them from harm.” I believe that most of us in the Valley would agree that congressman Valadao represents us to a T in his pro-life stance.

State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, on the other hand, represents somebody completely different than you or me: Senator Hurtado co-authored a bill (SB 379) which will force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions. We in the Valley should be appalled. We in the Valley need a new state senator.

Does the Valley harbor anyone willing to run in the 2022 state Senate race who will truly represent us in the beliefs and values we hold dear? If so, this “somebody” should clearly receive our Valley votes in 2022.

This story was originally published August 8, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Water and almond trees: Letters to the editor, Aug. 8, 2021."