My son lived in the valley for over three years.Many days you could not see the mountains for the smog.The fertile valley was beautiful and being able to go to Yosemite in the snow,then to Monterrey for the beach and sea lions was awesome.
I wanted to fish the stream out of Yosemite for trout and found that they were stocked in spring and fished out the same year.
We stopped going for Christmas because it rained every day.
In the summer you could plan anything without rain.It was 112 degrees and don't let anybody tell you it doesn't feel that way because of low humidity. Cool nights though made their pool too cool for me.
The melting mountain snow came down into the canals and irrigated for the dry summer.
Oh, those content cows roaming the hills and advertising for California dairy products are the ones used for beef.The dairy cows live in their own dung in a small filthy area and eat from troughs of processed junk food and animal parts.

Unfortunately the "Golden State" has lost much of its luster.California basically reveals what can happen when the carrying capacity of an ecosystem is exceeded.Humans despite advanced technology are not really exempt from the iron rules of nature.Technology only postpones the day of reckoning.

Musca

What a great blog! I, too, am amazed when people act like there is something wrong with being a "tree hugger"...Talk about having a shortsighted outlook!

When most people think of "tree huggers", they don't think of someone who just cares about our planet and our health. Most think of the far left nuts, like members of ELF, who are in reality domestic terrorists, those who break laws and sometimes put human life in jeopardy. We have all heard stories of people trespassing on property, chaining themselves to trees, camping out in trees, blocking roads, and even sabotaging equipment and destroying buildings! With this in mind the last thing we need is more "tree huggers".

We are going to take some things away from this planet. No one living does not enjoy the spoils of harming this beautiful planet! What we need are some sane laws! These "tree huggers" are some of the same people who as you said are responsible for our situation now. (As we all are)

Instead of being against more drilling and refineries we should encourage new refineries that pollute less, drilling that use more environmentally friendly methods, better forestry practices, more Nuclear power, and by all means stop burning oil for electricity!

Let’s get new refineries built and maybe get the old ones shutdown. That would be more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Lets cut that tunnel in that mountain to have a permanent storage place for spent nuclear fuel, cut some of the red tape to help companies get reactors built and online faster. Companies who use green energy sources, such as Hydro, wind, and solar should get more Government subsidies than the oil companies do.

When we cut timber now we are cutting broadleaf hardwoods and replacing them with Pines in most cases! That’s part of our problem; they do not convert CO2 to O2 like the broadleaf trees do. Why not require when someone replant, they replant at least 10% in broadleaf trees. Including existing pine stands. 1 out of every 10 acres and every time the pines get cut another 10% is added.

Encourage cattle farmers to use methane as a fuel source for there farms. Give them tax benefits for doing it. We give tax breaks to companies for far less.

The solution may not be to stop using oil, top cutting timber and, block Nuclear power. It sure isn’t good to defend the nuts I think of when someone says “tree huggers! Go ahead and attack me for calling them nuts, I fully expect it! The solution may be more sane policies about the things we already use.

I love and appreciate this planet, our country, and nature! It can be done more responsibly, and to quote mad max “It’s called the food chain, your at the top of it deal with it!

Bullochguy,It is always possible to find examples of what can only be described as the lunatic fringe.When I call myself a tree hugger,I am merely stating my belief that we need to respect nature since ,like it or not, we are part of nature.I was really not refering to terrorists or crazies of any persuasion.I do believe,however, that we need to wean ourselves away from fossil fuels and that everyone needs to cultivate an environmental awareness,something that seeems to be in short supply in contemporary America.

Just pointing out what many think of when you say tree hugger. People generally get the image of someone chained to a tree in front of a skidder.