Welcome to the July edition. It’s amazing how fast time goes by. July isn’t just the middle of the year, it is also the beginning of summer, which officially started June 20. And we are not facing a “regular” summer. It is hotter and dryer with higher risk of wildfires and higher levels of air pollution. Things are not getting better. It is imperative that we implement measures to control these problems that are getting worse every year.
The San Joaquin Valley has some of the most polluted air in the country, yet we are still opening distribution centers that increase the traffic of highly polluting trucks, affecting mainly areas populated by low-income people.
Lots of small communities around the Valley do not have clean water, and some of those communities don’t have water at all. Where did all the water go? Not long ago, the San Joaquin River was populated by big boats and Tule Lake was much bigger.
The water is gone. It was diverted to feed big, unscrupulous industrial agriculture. Lakes became dry basins. Farmers are drilling deeper and deeper to get water, contributing to the drying of water tables. And they still demand the building of more dams. What is the point of a dam if there is no water for it to capture? What rivers are left to divert water?
We need to move fast to control climate change before it’s too late—maybe it is already too late. Let’s keep hope and do our part and demand the “big guys’” do theirs.
And the good news is: We have a bigger edition with good and interesting stories. And it will get even better in upcoming editions because the Community Alliance newspaper has received two grants that will allow us to cover more stories and bring new people onto our editorial board (see “Great News from the Community Alliance”).
In September, we celebrate our 25th anniversary. Join us, celebrate with us and support independent journalism. We are part of this community that we report about, and we want you to be part of our effort as well.
Till next month.
