MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: California Drought

Interview

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SCHULTZ: ...For more on the situation in California which is dire, I want to bring in
Congressman John Garamendi of California who is a professional rancher, who
is also the former Insurance Commissioner in California and former
Lieutenant Governor. He knows the story.

Congressman, good to have you with us tonight.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI, (D) CALIFORNIA: Ted, thank you for sounding the
alarm. You could not be more right about what`s happening around this
globe and more right about what`s happening in California.

It is a very serious situation in California, and about every other state
on the western side of this United States. It is a huge problem and it`s
here now.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, there is a domino effect here. It`s now affecting
the resources, it`s now affecting the economy, have you ever that this is
bad and what do you think the future is? Will California come out of this
or is this the way it is?

GARAMENDI: Well, the way it is, is there`s going to be less water
available in the future. We`ve known this since the mid `90s. I was
Deputy Secretary at the Department of Interior. We were studying these
issues. We sounded the alarm there.

I headed to Kyoto Conference, came back to Washington and the Senate
refused to deal with the treaty coming out of Kyoto Conference.

But we knew then in the mid `90s that the snow levels in California and the
Rocky Mountains would decline simply because it was warmer that`ll be less
snow.

We knew then that the Colorado River and the Sacramento River and the San
Joaquin River would have less water. We knew then and we certainly know
today because it is here today. All of those predictions have come true.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

GARAMENDI: We can do things and we must do them. Obviously, conservation
but we`re going to have to replenish our aquifers when there is rain.
We`re going to have to build storage systems. We`re going to have
seriously conserved and we`re going to have to recycle water all across
this United States and certainly along every state along the southern
boarder from Florida to California.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, what do you make of this high water prices? What is
this going to do to agriculture which is a huge industry in the state of
California? What do you make at the high water prices? Where is this
going?

GARAMENDI: Well, I tell you what this doing to my cattle business, we sold
a third of our herd last year. We`re looking at this year. Fortunately,
my wife said, "We`re going to put every bale of hay we can in the barn
because this maybe needed." And indeed we probably will need it this
coming year.

For agriculture in California, we`ve already seen a multibillion dollar
reduction in values. We`re going to see more of that.

A third of the rise in my -- or 25% of the rise in my district was not
quite (ph) as last year, maybe a third this coming year.

We know that many of the permanent crops, almonds, walnuts that were
planted in those areas that were depended on surface water that did not
have groundwater. Those orchards are going to die.

It`s serious but we can deal with it because we are creative in California.
We`re looking at the new technologies, serious water conservation
technologies for agriculture.

Alfalfa fields are being irrigated with drip irrigation, not with
sprinkler, not with flood but rather with drip irrigation.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

GARAMENDI: And most of the tomatoes in California are no longer -- the
sprinkler or flood there, on drip.

So we`re saving water everywhere we can. There`s more to be done and we
simply going to have to do more. That we`re resilient, we`re resilient
people but what is deadly is ignorance. The kind of...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

GARAMENDI: ... ignorance that Senator Cruz had. That is absolutely deadly
both economically. And unfortunately, if you don`t pay attention to this
climate change, humans are going to suffer all around the world.

SCHULTZ: Congressman John Garamendi, good to have you with us tonight. I
appreciate your time.

GARAMENDI: Always.

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