Wasilla Wackjob

Sarah Palin dropped by the golden state Sunday to spread her inimitable message to the Central Valley farmers that were assembled in Lemoore, California. West Hills College paid $115,0000 to hear the klondike belle pontificate about the issues of the day. She was delivering a red meat message to the masses, who vigorously applauded and pretty much ate the whole thing up. It echoes the standard conservative refrain, just keep on doing what you've been doing.

The former Alaska governor told the approximately 1,400 people in attendance that endangered species regulations protecting the Delta smelt and limiting pumping are "destroying" the lives of those in the Central Valley.

"A faceless government is taking away their lifeline, water, all because of a 3-inch fish," Palin said. "Where I come from, a 3-inch fish, we call that bait. There is no need to destroy people's lives over bait."

She used the event to call for more domestic drilling and called for the government to loosen restrictions on water allotments to the large agribusiness that farm the San Joaquin Valley.

Palin shows her remarkable lack of understanding once again when she chooses to frame the environmental disaster that is the central valley as merely a fight between humans and a three inch fish. The delta smelt is a bellwether species. It is a canary in the coal mine for many more species that are in danger in the estuary.

The term bellwether came from the practice of putting a bell on the leader of a flock of sheep. The term is now used to describe an indicator of a complex of ecological changes. Bellwether species are also called indicator species and are seen as early warning signs of environmental damage and ecosystem change.  The health of the smelt is directly tied to the health of our most important waterway, a waterway that supplies water to two thirds of California. Damage to a bellwether could have implications for countless other species, including homo sapiens.

At least three other harbinger fish species are now also endangered; longfin smelt, threadfin shad and young striped bass. Of course, something that can hurt a fish couldn't be harmful to a human, could it? We are so much taller.

I find people like Palin and her ilk very shortsighted to say the least. Perhaps it stems from some  acceptance of a biblical mandate giving man dominion over his environment, the flora and fauna serving us at our whim. I am not personally willing to trade a future stay in heaven for life in a polluted hellhole but I'm just funny that way.

"It's OK for showers, except it makes you itch so bad you want to scratch until you bleed." Marina Gallo, resident of Seville, CA.

There was an article last week in the Los Angeles Times about water quality issues in the central valley, an issue that is so alarming that the United Nations recently sent a lawyer out to investigate. Well water pollutants have been linked to several diseases, including Parkinsons. Excessive use of nitrate laden fertilizer, pesticides like atrazine, chromium, arsenic and salt all contribute to destroying the fragile ecosystem. The farmers are adamantly against even monitoring their runoff. There are no current regulations in place regarding fertilizer use.

I drive through the Central Valley quite often. The air there is some of the worst in the country, due to several factors including the incessant burning that takes place in the large farming operations. The soil and water are no better. The outlook of the Sarah Palin's of this world, the kind of people that get pleasure from shooting defenseless wolves from airplanes, who fail to see that we humans are merely a link in a very tenuous chain, give me little hope or optimism.

Her comments about the smelt belie her ignorance and give us a clearer idea of the incredible naivete and stupidity that still exists regarding these issues. Jobs and food are important to all of us but not at the cost of our lives and health. Let us hope that the current stewards in Alaska have a clearer grasp than this woman does.