CADILLAC DESERT' CONTINUES.Synopsis: A look at the political and environmental fights that stemmed from the transformation of California's Central Valley from a semi-arid plain into the most productive and environmentally altered agricultural region in the history of the world. In the region's heyday in 1974, 25 percent of American food came from the region. The Central Valley Project was the largest water works in history. But President Jimmy Carter, a farmer himself, called for an investigation that uncovered cost overruns, environmental threats and terrible poverty among the farm workers. In the mid-'80s, the combined effect of bird deformities caused by toxic water runoff Runoff The procedure of printing the end-of-day prices for every stock on an exchange onto ticker tape. Notes: If the "tape is late" then it can take a long time to print off all the closing prices. from farms, Congressional investigations into water subsidies and a 6-year-drought turned public opinion in favor of water reform. Now, almost all the corporate farms have left the region, and water restrictions - which began in 1992 when an urban-dominated Congress enacted a water reform law - have permanently changed the region. Look who's talking: Floyd Dominy Floyd Dominy (born 1909) was the Nebraska-born Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner from May 1 1959 to 1969. Dominy joined the Bureau in 1946. He was the Assistant Commissioner from 1957 to 1958. (commissioner of reclamation, 1959-1969), Kathleen Brown Kathleen Brown (born 15 October 1946) is Democratic politician from California. She is the daughter of former Governor Pat Brown and the sister of California Attorney General Jerry Brown (also a former Governor of California). (California state treasurer The California State Treasurer is responsible for the state's investment and finance. The post has more narrow responsibilities and authority than the California State Controller. Some of the responsibilities include issuing bonds and notes for the state. , 1991-1994), Jason Peltier (manager of the Central Valley Project Water Association The Central Valley Project Water Association (CVPWA) represents water users that have long-term contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation and receive their water from the Central Valley Project. The Central Valley Project operates many dams and canals in California. ) and Marc Reisner (author of ``Cadillac Desert''). |
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