Tuesday, February 27, 2007

 

Auburn Dam - annotated bibliography.

Porkbarrel project cannot stand on its own merit.

Here are some more reasons to oppose Auburn Dam in my Auburn Dam Directory - websites described from an environmental perspective and a taxpayer perspective. Please let me know about any other websites that should be added to the directory.

Kayaking on the NF American River last year was a glorious trip. This section of river would be drowned under the reservoir if Auburn Dam was ever built.

More about: Auburn Dam, Flood Control and River Conservation.

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Friday, February 23, 2007

 

Auburn Dam Opponents in the Blogosphere

Here is a list of bloggers opposing Auburn Dam and supporting river conservation. Please add these sites to your blogrolls. Let me know about any other blogs that should be added to this list. If we all link to each other and post comments on each others' blogs it will help us to get higher ranks in the search engines. This will get our message out to more readers and more voters.

River Blogs Opposing Auburn Dam.



Environmental Blogs Opposing Auburn Dam.



Political Blogs Opposing Auburn Dam.



Auburn Dam supporters currently have the highest ranks in the search engines.

Try searching for Auburn Dam in any of the search engines - Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. and you will see what I mean. Auburn Dam opponents will need to get smarter about putting our message out on the Internet if we want to compete better for the attention of our potential supporters. My Tips for Bloggers section describes what I know about publicizing a blog and earning higher ranks in the search engines. It starts with quality and quantity of content. Write about important things that other people will be interested to read. Make links to other sources of great info using the name Auburn Dam whenever appropriate in your hyperlink text. Put Auburn Dam in the titles and subtitles of your blog posts. Register your blog with online directories. Contact website owners and ask them to link to your blog. Install the Google toolbar into your web browser, enable display of PageRank information and work towards higher PageRank scores for your blog.

More about: Auburn Dam, Flood Control and River Conservation.

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Sunday, February 18, 2007

 

Auburn Dam - High Costs and High Risks

Auburn Dam benefits are overstated

Despite the recent study showing high costs and low benefits, predicting Auburn Dam supporters' continued fight for this foolish project was as easy as predicting a sunrise. Politicians who support Auburn Dam have published another article today. They claim that an Auburn Dam would provide increased flood protection, but fail to mention that it would be "dam irresponsible" to build this dam on an earthquake fault. This dam would actually increase the risks of flooding. They claim that an Auburn Dam would increase water supply and hydroelectric power, but fail to mention the recent study indicating less water and less power benefits than were predicted in the past. They claim that the reservoir behind the dam would provide recreational benefits, but fail to mention that Folsom Reservoir is already available nearby for those who want reservoir-based recreation. There would be no mitigation for the river recreation and wildlife habitat that would be lost if another section of the American River canyon was drowned under another reservoir.

Auburn Dam porkbarrel project - who would benefit?

An Auburn Dam porkbarrel project would enrich a few contractors who would build it, a few landowners whose property would be along the shore of a new reservoir, and a few more landowners who could develop housing subdivisions based on water from a new reservoir. These few powerful people will continue to fight for their porkbarrel project forever with the help of local politicians who are willing to work against the greater public good.

Flood Control for Sacramento - Sensible and Affordable Projects

I support upgrading of Folsom Dam to make it more effective as the flood control structure that it was originally supposed to be. I support upgrading American River levees downstream of Folsom Dam to protect existing structures. I support sensible zoning regulations that encourage setback levees along rivers wherever possible and that prevent new housing or business developments on flood-prone lands. I support lowering the intakes of the Sacramento Weir (pdf) and upgrading operating procedures for the Sacramento Bypass to reduce the risk of flooding in Sacramento along the Sacramento River levees. For more information see News10 article on Sacramento weir.

More about: River Conservation, Auburn Dam and Flood Control.

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Saturday, February 03, 2007

 

Paddling Northern California by Charlie Pike (book review)

Guidebook for coastal, lake and river boating.


Morris Book Publishing, first edition, 2001. ISBN-10: 1560449683. ISBN-13: 978-1560449683.

The book Paddling Northern California describes a smorgasboard of diverse boating opportunities in northern California. It is useful for kayakers, canoers and rafters exploring saltwater and freshwater locations, including lakes, flatwater rivers and whitewater rivers. The 65 boating destinations described are mostly for beginners, with a few destinations for intermediate and expert boaters. Good concise descriptions are provided for each destination including maps for driving to the water. The appendix provides website addresses, phone numbers and addresses for additional trip planning information. This book is a good beginner resource for touring a wide range of boating destinations. Boaters advancing to a higher level of adventure or wishing to focus on one type of boating destination will want other more specialized books. (*** - my rating 3 stars out of 5).



More about: Reviews - Books, Videos, & Websites.

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Thursday, February 01, 2007

 

Auburn Dam Price Tag Soars While Expected Benefits Decrease

Auburn Dam is bad for taxpayers and bad for the environment.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has recently reported that construction of Auburn Dam on the American River (El Dorado County, Placer County, California, USA) will cost far more than previously estimated, while providing less flood protection, less usable water and causing more harm to adjacent recreation areas and more harm to the environment. Blogs from aorafting, theamericanriver, W.E.T. River Trips, solongjohn and radioleft have also been speaking out against construction of Auburn Dam.

The political forces that have long supported Auburn Dam continue to support this project. Although it now seems unlikely that this costly boondoggle would be funded any time soon we must remain vigilant to ensure that this foolish project never gets built.

Editorial: Forget an Auburn dam - sacbee.com 01feb2007 (doc).

Politics - Auburn dam price tag soars - sacbee.com 31jan2007.

For more information:

Auburn-Folsom South Unit Special Report - Bureau of Reclamation.
Auburn Dam Lives - a study, that is - Tom Philp's Waterlog - 13jan2007.
Auburn Dam Directory.

More about: Auburn Dam, River Conservation and Flood Control.

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