Even with the water shortages we faced in 2014, California's 76,400 farms
produced $54 billion that year - a more than five percent increase in cash
receipts from 2013. No other state in the county has a larger agricultural
output than California so it is no doubt that this industry is a very important
part of California's economy.

About half of California's water is used for environmental purposes such
as maintaining habitats and scenic rivers or keeping seawater out of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is an important source of
our drinking water. Another 40 percent of California's water is used for
agricultural irrigation while urban usage represents the remaining ten
percent of water usage.

Technological innovation has allowed for agricultural and urban water usage
to decline although farm production and the population continues to grow
each year. This is good news for the environment as well as the economy.

While an independent California will continue to foster the technological
innovation and promote the environmental conservation that has led to
the decline in water usage across California, independence means we can
actually increase the water supply. More water means California's $2.46
trillion economy - the sixth largest in the world - can continue to expand
because farmers will be able to grow more crops and we as a nation will be
able to support an ever-growing population.

In normal years, the snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California's
water as it melts in the spring and early summer. The larger the snowpack,
the greater the likelihood California's reservoirs will receive ample runoff.
However, this snow and the associated runoff is on federal lands and
managed by federal agencies subject to the federal budget. The problem is
the federal government is mismanaging these lands by allowing the forests
of the Sierra Nevada mountains to become too dense. Not only does that
negatively affect the health of our forests and increase the likelihood of
forest fires, but more trees means that more water is being consumed and
therefore there is less runoff.

As an independent country, we will take control of our forests. This will put
us in position to increase mechanical thinning and restore meadows. In
doing so, we will allow our beautiful Sequoias to grow and flourish, reduce
the threat of forest fires, and increase the water supply available for
hydropower, agriculture, and urban water usage - the economic benefits of
which would be sufficient to cover the costs of these restoration projects.

Not only has the federal government mismanaged our forests but they have
also been allowing private corporations to extract California's groundwater
from these forests with permits that have been expired since the late 1980s.
While this does not represent a huge portion of our water supply, every drop counts - especially in a drought.

An independent California will have oversight authority to not only make sure
that private companies extracting our groundwater for profit are operating
with valid permits, but also that they adequately compensate the people of
California for this precious resource. The federal government permits these
companies to extract millions of gallons of our water for just $527 a year!

On top of all this, because we will no longer be subsidizing other states
and also spending less on the military, an independent California will have
more money to pay for the maintenance of existing water infrastructure
facilities - such as those near Sacramento, one of the most "at-risk" areas
for a catastrophic flood resulting from levee failure, as well as new projects,
including Eco-friendly desalination along the coast.

About half of California's water is used for environmental
purposes such as maintaining habitats and scenic rivers or keeping seawater out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is an important source of
our drinking water.

...independence means we can actually increase the water supply.

In normal years, the snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California's
water as it melts in the spring and early summer. The larger the snowpack,
the greater the likelihood California's reservoirs will receive ample runoff.
However, this snow and the associated runoff is on federal lands and
managed by federal agencies subject to the federal budget.

Twank Note #1: I'm looking forward to finishing this diary series ... I REALLY need to talk to the Calexit people.

How to avoid being deported under Trump? Sac State students strategize

Calexit group files for 2018 vote on whether California should leave U.S.

Twank Note #2: Looks like GAME ON !!