Is Water the New Gold

Drought was declared an “emergency” under the Resources and Preparedness Executive Order, Obama can seize resources.  This action by Obama is the implementation of the March 16 Executive Order – Resources and Preparedness

Team Obama Seizing Western Water Supplies

Fox Nation:

LAS CRUCES — Clearly, it was jolting news the New Mexico Legislature’s Water and Natural Resources Committee wasn’t prepared for.

During Monday’s committee meeting, in the Barbara Hubbard Room at the Pan American Center Annex, lawyers representing the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, Elephant Butte Irrigation District, and the city of Las Cruces, told the committee that a state Water Court hearing will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, at the Third Judicial Court Complex, 201 E. Picacho Ave., and the future management of state’s water supply could hang in the balance of the hearing’s outcome.

“Why hasn’t this been front-page news?” asked a surprised Clinton D. Harden Jr., a state senator from Clovis. “This is one of the biggest things ever. Frankly, what we’re looking at is under the camel’s nose. This is an unprecedented legal claim to water.”

The lawyers told the committee the U.S. government is apparently trying to take over legal management of the state’s water supply. The federal government has asserted claims for damages to groundwater in a natural resource damage case in New Mexico involving Chevron/Molycorp. The claim seeks for those damages to be awarded in the form of future water rights management.

The federal government’s lawsuit has caught the attention of the Western Governors’ Association.

“Claims by federal trustees of this nature are unprecedented and are of great concern to the Western states,” said Pam O. Inmann, executive director of the Western Governors’ Association, in a letter to Tom Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Ken Salazar, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. “…The ramifications of such legal position extend to the very heart of the Western states exclusive ownership and/or management and control of the groundwater resources within their respective boundaries.”

Jay Stein, a lawyer representing the city of Las Cruces, who has filed as an intervener in the case, said the outcome of the hearing could potentially affect the city’s water supply.

“In the pending water rights adjudication in state district court, here in Las Cruces, the court has turned to the United States’ claims. Foremost among these is the issue of the United States’ claims to “groundwater’ or to “project water in the ground,’ as they have termed it. These claims are not supported by any actual beneficial use of groundwater. Nor are they supported by state law which governs proceedings in the adjudication.

“These water claims are unqualified but potentially could amount to hundreds of thousands of acre-feet per year.”

City Utilities Director Jorge Garcia later added, “If the feds end up owning the groundwater, it would negatively affect any future water planning the city would want to do.”

Some legislators vented their frustrations with federal government.

“This is the first I’ve heard of this contrived conspiracy,” Harden said.

“Many times the federal government has no common sense what so ever,” said Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell.

Added Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, and committee chair, “I’m really concerned about this lawsuit. This is really a strange, and bad — and bad — circumstance.”

Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452  . Also follow him on Twitter: @SteveRamirez6.

New Mexico Office of the State Engineer website: www.ose.state.nm.us

Taking our water?

• A state District Court hearing will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Third Judicial Court Complex, 201 E. Picacho Ave.

• The hearing will focus on claims for damages sought by the U.S. government to groundwater.

• The federal government’s claim against New Mexico is unprecedented.

• If the federal government prevails, it could mean they would control management of the state’s future water supplies

Oregon criminalizes permaculture; claims state ownership over all rainwater – ponds and swales restricted – jail time for violators

Mike Adams - Natural News – July 30, 2012

There’s nothing more refreshing than standing in a cool, summertime rain shower. Or bathing in the warm sunlight on a crisp spring day. Or inhaling the cool autumn air, fresh with the scent of turning leaves and pine needles.

These things — rainwater, sunlight, air — have long been assumed to be not only free, but un-claimable. You can’t claim to own the sunlight that falls on my front yard, for example. A corporation can’t claim intellectual property ownership over the air that you breathe and demand you pay a royalty for inhaling.

But today, Jackson County, Oregon says it owns YOUR rainwater, and the county has sentenced a man to 30 days in jail and fined him over $1500, for the supposed “crime” of collecting rainwater on his own property.

The man’s name is Gary Harrington, and he owns over 170 acres of land in Jackson County. On that land, he has three ponds, and those ponds collect rainwater that falls on his land.

Common sense would say Gary has every right to have ponds with water on his 170 acres of land, but common sense has been all but abandoned in the state of Oregon.

Much like California, Oregon is increasingly becoming a collectivist state.

You didn’t build that! The government built that! You don’t own that! The government owns that! That rainwater that just fell on your land? That’s the government’s rainwater, and you’re going to jail if you try to steal from the government!

That’s the explanation from Jackson County officials, who initially granted Harrington “permits” to build ponds back in 2003.

Yes, in Oregon you actually need to beg for permission from the government just to have a pond on your own land. But the state of Oregon revoked his permits a few years later, after he had already created the ponds, thus putting Harrington in the position of being a “water criminal” who was “stealing” rainwater from the state.

Tom Paul, administrator of the Oregon Water Resources Department, is an obedient water Nazi. He insists, “Oregon law that says all of the water in the state of Oregon is public water and if you want to use that water, either to divert it or to store it, you have to acquire a water right from the state of Oregon before doing that activity.”

What he means, of course, is not that the water is “public” water, but that it’s government water. The government owns it, and if you “steal” from the government by, for example, collecting rainwater off your own roof, you will go to jail.

Thus, even when rainwater falls on your own property, you don’t own it! The government owns it. You didn’t build that! The government built that. That’s not YOUR land, you only lease it from the King, and by the way, your property tax is due again…

Harrington said that he will never stop fighting the government on this issue. As reported in CNS News: “When something is wrong, you just, as an American citizen, you have to put your foot down and say, This is wrong; you just can’t take away anymore of my rights and from here on in, I’m going to fight it.” (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/oregon-man-sentenced-30-days-jail-col…)

If states claim they own the rain, they may soon claim to own the sunlight, too

Rainwater, it turns out, isn’t the only thing that falls on your land. Sunlight also falls on your land. Air resides above it, and minerals below it.

If the state of Oregon already claims to own all the water that falls on your land, what’s to stop them from claiming ownership over all the sunlight, too? Imagine a day when the state erects solar panels on your land, but the electricity isn’t yours to keep. You still have to pay for it, because the sunlight belongs to the state, get it?

If you erect your own solar panels on your own land, the state could then arrest you and charge you with “stealing” state property. All those photons, you see, belong to the state. Once the state declares sunlight to be “community property,” you instantly become a criminal for having solar panels on your house.

State of Oregon declares war on permaculture and sustainable living

Collecting rainwater — and sunlight — are practices taught in sustainable living, permaculture and throughout the green movement. Rainwater capture using ponds and swales is one of the most important strategies for restoring a local landscape. See a good video overview of this here:

Video: Permaculture – Water Harvesting – Full Swales

These rainwater capture practices help trees grow more quickly and accelerate the return of animal life to any region. They can even be used to restore a desert to a lush, food-producing forest. Watch these remarkable videos with Geoff Lawton:

http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=C8103CF932330F50C3517F90AD81CBAB
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=566CDDCCEAB4F13F84BD671136D07F10
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=9F5EE67E76B9EEF613327E144B1B9973
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=E6AA432FA7063A24C998BC96C1363A72

See more premaculture videos on the permaculture channel at TV.naturalnews.com: http://tv.naturalnews.com/Browse.asp?memberid=18014

Capturing rainwater also reduces the burden on groundwater supplies and municipal water systems. Capturing rainwater actually protect aquifers and raises the value of land, which results in higher property tax revenues for the county.

That Jackson County officials actually criminalize permaculture practices is abhorrent to not only the green movement on the left, but also the Libertarians and Constitutionalists on the right. Much like in California, Oregon County officials are lying, power-hungry tyrants who falsely accuse Harrington of “diverting” stream water when, in reality, he was only capturing water that normally flows off his own property and later joins the stream.

“Water law is water law, whether you agree with it or not,” said Jackson County Water Master Larry Menteer. (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/16/man-disputes-oregon-convictions-…)

In other words, the power of the state is absolute, even if the state departs from the realm of sanity. Importantly, if the state of Oregon can claim ownership over rainwater, what’s to stop the state from claiming ownership over the AIR, too?

To clarify: Oregon state bureaucrats are claiming they own the RUNOFF water from rainwater that falls on your own land! Some of the communist-minded critics who are defending state officials in this case are lying and trying to claim this man “dammed a stream,” implying it was a stream that ran through his property. That’s a lie. All this man did was dam up his own runoff which later dumps into a stream. Thus, he only captures his own rainwater. He takes no water from anywhere else. And when his own ponds are filled, that rainwater overflows directly into the stream where it used to flow before he built his dams.

This practice of capturing rainwater has been used throughout the history of civilization to restore landscapes, preserve soils, grow food and live more sustainably. Do not fall for the disinformation campaigns being waged on this issue by the Oregon communists and socialists who believe no individual has any right to anything.

What if Oregon claims ownership over the air you breathe?

If the state of Oregon can claim it owns the water that falls on your land, then it can also just as easily claim ownership over the sunlight that falls on your land. But it doesn’t stop there: What about the air you breathe?

There is absolutely nothing stopping Oregon — or any other state — from proclaiming air is “state property.” If you breathe it, you owe the state money.

The fees will be small at first — perhaps $10 / month — but over time they will be raised to exorbitant levels. It’s a state-run shakedown, after all, and once the People become apathetic enough to allow the state to expand its power beyond all reason, there is no limit to the state’s desire for total control over everything under the sun… even including the sun and the air!

This is not a difficult matter for the state to achieve. Oregon could simply pass a new law declaring all air that exists within state boundaries to be state property. Those who “divert” air by engaging in activities such as inflating balloons or compressing air and storing it in air tanks would be given stiff jail sentences.

Think this couldn’t happen? Think it’s too stupid? It’s no more stupid than what has already happened — the criminalization of capturing rainwater, a common permaculture practice for sustainable living.

California criminalizes fresh milk; Michigan criminalizes small local ranching; Oregon criminalizes permaculture

Do you see a pattern in all this? As NaturalNews has reported in just the last 18 months:

• California has declared war on small, local fresh milk farmers and distributors (http://www.naturalnews.com/036614_James_Stewart_Ventura_county_raw_mi…).

• Michigan has criminalized small, local ranchers and animal operations (http://www.naturalnews.com/035585_Michigan_farms_raids.html).

• A city in Michigan has also tried to criminalize home gardens (http://www.naturalnews.com/032960_Julie_Bass_home_gardening.html).

• The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma sent out a “destruction crew” to chop down a woman’s edible landscaping garden of over 100 varieties of foods and medicinal herbs (http://www.naturalnews.com/036234_edible_landscaping_medicinal_plants…).

• Oregon has criminalized one of the most important practices of permaculture, capturing rainwater to restore life to a local landscape.

What’s the pattern here? Total state domination over all resources — land, water, food, medicine and more. This is part of the ongoing effort to crush self reliance in America and turn everybody into a mindless, hopeless slave of the state, living on USDA food stamps and eating corporate-engineered GMO.

Freedom means being able to speak your mind, capture your rainwater, bask in the sun, grow trees, raise backyard chickens, home school your children, say NO to vaccines, defend your life and property against looters and violent crime. Freedom is what once made America great, and it is the crushing of freedom which is now destroying America.

Collectivism is the enemy of freedom

In Oregon, California, Michigan, Washington D.C. and everywhere around the world where evil bureaucrats seek total power over all of humanity, our natural, divine rights are being viciously stripped away. Our money supply is being eroded at an accelerating rate.

Our right to due process has been nullified by our own President (http://www.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_Bill_of_Rights_Obama.html). Our right to free speech is being increasingly censored and stifled. Our right to grow our own home gardens is under constant assault. (http://www.naturalnews.com/036234_edible_landscaping_medicinal_plants…)

The common cause behind all these attacks on freedom is “collectivism” — the idea that individuals have no value and that only the state can provide life, food and an economy. This is accomplished through endless permit requirements that now make running something like an organic farm a paperwork nightmare.

It is encapsulated in the recently-publicized idea that “You didn’t build that! The government built that!” which ridiculously imagines that only government creates prosperity, not individual innovators and people who believe in hard work.

Similarly, the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act late last year (http://www.naturalnews.com/030986_food_safety_farmers.html) will absolutely devastate small, local farms once it fully kicks in (see video below).

We are all becoming indentured servants

With every new regulation, inspection, permit and government burden placed upon farms and land owners, we are increasingly destroying our own futures by placing more power in the hands of tyrannical government. We are all becoming indentured servants to the state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servant)

Think you OWN your land? Try not paying property tax for a year. You’ll find out very quickly that you don’t own anything. The state owns it. You are just paying rent.

Watch this video interview with Farmer Brad from central Texas, who talks about the devastating impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act:  http://theintelhub.com/2012/07/30/oregon-criminalizes-permaculture-claims-state-ownership-over-all-rainwater-ponds-and-swales-restricted-jail-time-for-violators/

Related:

Obama To Give UN Control Of Our Water!

Will Drought Cause the Next Blackout?

Power plants most vulnerable to water scarcity

Who knew? Power plants use 40% of U.S. freshwater supplies. How will they cope with a drier climate? Who will keep the lights on when the water runs out?

Notes: Thermoelectric plants (nuclear, coal and gas) make up roughly 90 percent of the U.S. electricity mix and they use 40 percent of the nation’s freshwater supplies. Climate change will reduce freshwater supplies and threaten power plants that use water for cooling.

Vulnerability of US and European electricity supply to climate change – http://ht.ly/1keJom

In the United States and Europe, at present 91% and 78% (ref. 1) of the total electricity is produced by thermoelectric (nuclear and fossil-fuelled) power plants, which directly depend on the availability and temperature of water resources for cooling. During recent warm, dry summers several thermoelectric power plants in Europe and the southeastern United States were forced to reduce production owing to cooling-water scarcity

More about Executive orders

Prepare yourselves, have supplies on hand (food, water, gold/silver, guns and ammo, basic supplies, etc.), get-involved and stand-up!