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Water Bond Will Drown Us in Debt While California Goes Thirsty
THERE IS ONLY A SHORT TIME LEFT TO HELP KEEP A WASTEFUL WATER BOND OFF OF THE NOVEMBER BALLOT.
On Tuesday, August 12th, a coalition of environmental, fishing and community organizations rallied across the state in opposition to the water bond recently proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein. We oppose this $9.3 billion proposal because it provides billions for wasteful and environmentally damaging projects while ignoring needed water reforms and plunging the state deeper in debt.
The California legislature will decide whether or not to place this water bond proposal on the November ballot within the next two weeks. Please join us in saying “NOT THIS BOND, NOT THIS BALLOT”.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
(1) CALL YOUR SENATOR AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER (at their Capitol offices) AND URGE THEM TO REJECT A WASTEFUL & ENVIRONMENTALLY DAMAGING WATER BOND ON NOVEMBER’S BALLOT
You can find your legislators’ contact information using the following link: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
(2) SIGN ON TO OUR LETTER THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE POLICY REFORMS THAT ARE NEEDED BEFORE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE SPENT!
Individuals:
Send name & address to Jody Zaitlan at jaz@lmi.net
Organizations:
Send officer’s name, officer’s title, organization’s name & organization’s address to Jody Zaitlan at jaz@lmi.net
WHY WE OPPOSE THE CURRENT BOND PROPOSAL
California’s current water policies are failing to provide our people, our economy, and our environment with adequate supplies of clean, affordable water. Even after allocating $18 BILLION in PREVIOUS water bond proceeds, THESE PROBLEMS STILL REMAIN:
- Californians still lack safe drinking water, and disadvantaged communities are suffering increasingly from inadequate drinking water quality.
- The Bay-Delta continues to decline.
- Our salmon fisheries are disappearing. The recent low returns of salmon have led to the unprecedented closure of the 2008 commercial salmon fishing season in California and Oregon.
- Our groundwater aquifers are contaminated and over-drafted.
Asking California to spend billions more without first addressing the underlying water management and policy problems in the state can only produce the same disappointing results as previous water bonds. To solve its water problems, California must tackle difficult policy and management needs head-on, not just slap on a monetary band-aid.
Our coalition has proposed a SET OF TEN PRINCIPLES FOR COMPREHENSIVE WATER POLICY REFORM that we include in our letter to Governor Schwarzenegger and Senator Feinstein.
Please sign on today and call your legislator to register your opposition to this premature water bond!
Thank You
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