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I a e paces ames have so heat, the
oy cop that gos hee ithot iigatio.
Bt i mid-Agst pety o those patigs sti
stad, eedy ad ay past mate, the pice
o o-gade heat so poo it doest pay to
havest it. Esehee the cop has bee ct ad
heds o sheep moved o to gaze the stbbea
o-tech ay to sqeeze a e cets moe ot o
the ad.
To get a bette ook at some o the sheep,
I t o the backtop oto a dit oad. Do a
ays thees a od, 1970s-mode taie, a hite
amim ad ivets, a sige bad o pae gee
do the midde. It seems at east tempoaiy
pemaetthees o tck i sight to p it
ayhee, ad the makigs o a sma, pactica
camp ae set ot aod the ot ad back eds.Thees a gabage ca ad a
popae tak, a soa
pae acig soth, ad a giat bag o dog ood,
et ope. The taie doo is o the a side, ook-
ig ot oto the sheep.
I t o my ca ad ye Hoa! To spot-
ted hedig dogs side ot om the shade de
the taie ad ceep aog the god toad me
i a ide cice, se. I stad thee o a mo-
met, beig sied om aa, ti ot comes a
ma. Hoa, he says.
He is maybe fve ad a ha eet ta, ith
bo ski ad back hai de a ba cap. His
ace is sti yoghes maybe oty, maybe ot
evebt his eyes ae ied ith had ceases.
Hes eaig ok pats ad og seeves, eve
thogh its iety degees ad the okday seems
to be ove.
My Spaish is patchy ad eak, ad he doest
speak Egish. Sti, e maage to sqeeze ot a
covesatio.
May I photograph the sheep?
Se, I dot cae.
Are they yours?
no, they beog to lacompania.
How many are there in this feld?
Thitee hded.Thirteen hundred? Really?
S.
As I sette ito photogaphig, he cosses his ams
ove his chest ad eas back. He atches me.
He doest stat ay covesatio himse, bt
hes iedy ad iig to ase my qestios.
whe e fay compete a exchage that s-
es om cojgated vebs ad missig os,
he aghs ad smies. To o his ot teeth ae
immed ith god.
His ame is Jos ris Dioicio. He is om Pe
ad has a amiy thee, icdig a so ho is to
ad a ha yeas od. la compaia boght him
hee o this ok.
Thee ae fve othe sheephedes ike him ho
ive ithi this gid o oads, a i sepaate taies
ike Joss, a yea od. A sixth ma, Macos,
has o sheep; his job is to gad giat baes o
aaa et i the fed, ad the machiey sed to
bae it. They make p a impovised commity
idig ot o thei o-heees to visit each othe,maybe dikig a bee
togethe ate ok. Bt
hee at the taie, Joss soe compaios ae the
to spotted dogs. Both have caed back de
the taie ad atch me om thee, sti se.
Are those your dogs?no, they beog to a compaia.
Do you like them? The dogs, I mean. Son
tus amigos?
Se. Theye my ieds.
Do you like it here?
I gess so. Do yo?
As I get i my tck to eave, he tes me to come
visit the ext time Im thee. I say that I i.
He has bee hee o to moths. I a goes as
paed, he i be hee o thee yeas.
t
he aa pecipitatio o the
westside Sa Joaqi Vaey ca be
as o as seve ichessame as the
aveage o the Gobi Deset. uess yo pat
heat, yo mst have impoted ate i ode
to go cops hee. Ad that is the simpe ea-so hy thee is so mch ao
ad. A potio
o it as take ot o podctio, ioicay,
becase o daiage pobems. Bt o the most
pat the ad is sed becase the spigot has
bee ted o.
O cose its moe compicated tha that,
hece the cod o coict that accompaies
eay evey discssio o ate, agicte, ad
the Ceta Vaey these days. The stoy begis
i the ate ieteeth cety, as the God rsh
gave ay to agicte, hich pomised to be a
moe astig ay to cash i o Caioias at-
a iches. Ideed, i 1901 Eood Mead o the
u.S. Depatmet o Agicte pedicted that the
Ceta Vaey od be the Egypt o the west-
e Hemispheea ot o agicta pospe-
ity that od ach geat civiizatios.
The oe sectio as especiay pized. It asamed the Sa Joaqi Vaey,
ate the boad
ive ig do its cete. The cimate thee
as am ad dy, ad the ad as amog the
ichest i the od. whats moe, it as at,
makig it easy to move ate acoss the sace.
This etie vaey as a agicta mothe
ode, bt thee as oe obstace: to ock this
ad, oe had to fd ate beyod hat the sky
gave thogh ai.
The pobem as soved fst by staighto-
ad ive divesios, the iceasigy by gas-
poeed ad eectic pmps that aoed ames
to access godate. Bt the te begiig o
mode ate i Caioia ad thoghot the
west came i 1902, ith the estabishmet o the
edea Bea o recamatio. As its ame sg-
gests, the Bea as ceated to ecaim va-
cat ad by bidig systems that od deive
ate o iigatio. This od eabe sma
ames to sette that ad, ad togethe thei
ams od be the odatio o popatig the
west ith heathy, astig commities. Istatdemocacyjst add ate.
Begiig i the 1930s, the e dea ad state
govemet spet miios o doas o eabo-
ate pojects to big moe ate to the egio.
Thei method as to pmp ate ot o the vast
ive deta that ies betee the Siea nevada
ad the Sa Facisco Bay ad covey the ateto the vaey ads sig caas.
Fist came the
Deta-Medota caa, competed i 1951. Ate
to moe decades (ad mch poitickig) came
the Caioia Aqedct. Beoe og, the Sa
Joaqi Vaey as tasomed.
Those ho dot mid that the Aqedct is
etiey mamade ad has baks o peecty
aged cemet say its the ogest ive i Caio-
ia444 mies og. It is cetaiy the fst ive
the westside has ko. Peviosy ames thee
iigated ith godate, bt the ad as
eativey ctivated. Ate the Aqedct bega
deiveig ate i 1968, the westside boomed.
It as ike oe o those Magic Gade chides
toys: add ate ad a packet o sotio, ad
oveight thee gos a bight, miacos ad-
scape hee beoe thee as othig.
Evey yea bt oe sice 1950, Feso Coty,
i hich the westside sits, has bee the cotys
top agicta coty i tems o goss vae
o podcts podced aay$5.66 biio i
2008. Sice the Aqedct, westside ams havebee majo cotibtos to
that eath. Today,
o the ad that sti has ate, the aea gos
massive qatities o amods, meos, gapes,
oios, pistachios, ad cotto. I yove boght
Ameica ettce at a chai spemaket i Api
o novembe, it amost cetaiy came om a
am i the westads wate Distict. Peope hee
i te yo pody that he yo eat pizza i
the uited States, chaces ae vey good that the
tomatoes i the sace ee go hee, i hat
as oce eectivey a deset.
Give that abdace, its had to ecocie
the Dst Bo ee aog the highay soth o
Medota. Ad yet thats hat happes he the
ate is ted oithot it, the ad is eec-
tivey othess.
I eay 2009, the Bea o recamatio
aoced that the westads wate Distictod eceive 0 pecet o its ate
aocatio
om the Aqedct i the comig yea. Deped-
ig ho yo ask, yo get a dieet easo
hy this happeed, bt essetiay it boied do
to thee actos: 1) The state-ide doght co-
tied o its thid yea; 2) impacts o cimate
chage had edced the sopack i the Siea,
hich eeds the ives that eed the Deta, om
hich the Aqedcts ate is da; 3) most
cotetiosy,the edea govemet had ma-
dated that pesevig see Aqueduct, page 14
2: wAter 3: wAter
People here will tell you proudly that when you
eat pizza in the United States, chances are very
good that the tomatoes in the sauce were grown
here, in what was once eectively a desert.
Writer and photographer Lisa Hamilton ocuses on agriculture,
particularly
the stories o armers, ranchers, and rural communities. She is
the author o
Deepy rooted: ucovetioa Fames i the Age o Agibsiess.
8/14/2019 Verview of Win Ters
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i 1925. The image is shockig, ad yet the ma givig me
diectios isisted that the tip as ot oth the gas.
Oce thee, I see he is ight. The adscape is o die-
et om that hich sods it o mies aod: amods
to the est, meos to the oth, gapes to the soth. I
he had diected me to a spot to mies do the oad,
I odt have ko the dieece. I p o ito the
gave, get ot o my tck, ad ty had to otice somethig
emakabe abot this pace. Thee is othig.
remembeig the photogaph o Joseph Poad, I ak
p to a teephoe poe ad ea agaist it. I tit my head
back ad ook p to the top, oghy thity eet o the
god. I I were standing here in 1925, I would be this
deep underground, I thik to myse. A sot o vetigo sets i
ith the idea, ad I t my head to ook staight oad.
Aothe thoght occs to me. In another seventy years, will
this spot right here be thirty eet high in the sky I imagie
ookig do ove my eet, dagig i mid-ai.
I sppose thats possibe, bt it doest seem ikey. I
act, its had to imagie ho mch oge this system ca
go o at a.
t
he uSGS epot o godate i the Ce-
ta Vaey pojected that i the te, cimate
chage i oy makes thigs ose. It is
pedicted that so pack i decease ad tempeates i
icease, meaig ess esh ate ad yet moe demad. ris-
ig sea eves i make the Deta ate moe saie, meaig
moe compomised fsh habitat ad ths pobaby ess pmp-
ig o the Aqedct. Add i ba popatios that co-
tie to go ad demad moe ad moe ate themseves,
ad its had to see ho this isse i be esoved.
no, mtipy that sceaio by tety o a hded
hateve acto eects the eaity that i some om this
is goig to happe thoghot the este uited States.
I some paces, it has aeady beg. Ad i each case, the
coapse i pose a choice as it does hee o the westside,
betee sbsidece o the ad ad a sot o sbsidece o
the a commity.
I the case o the Ceta Vaey, some peope thik
the choice is cea: paces ike the westads wate Distict
shod simpy be sht doe eve shod have stated
amig thee i the fst pace. I metio this to a ame
hose ad is o the east side o the Vaey, ad he cotes
ith his o ogic:
The easo peope bega amig thee i the fst pace
as the soi. Thees a sayig that the Paoche cay-oam
they have thee is so ich, yo cod eat it ith a spoo.
whee hee yo cod go, say, to baes o cotto o fve
tos o gapes, ove thee yo cod go o baes o cot-
to o te tos o gapes. Its jst that mch bette.
He stops to make se I ot metio his ameyo
odt at to get qoted o thisthe cotied.
Dot get me og, he says, I dot at to give p my
ate. Bt i e ca go tice as mch ove o the west-
side, hy ae e astig o ate goig ove hee?The vey simpe ase, ad oe
that he oeed doe-
y, is that thee aet eogh peope o the westside.
The westads wate Distict ad paces ike it eve ived
p to the recamatio idea o ams, commities, ad
democacy. Back i 1959, he Cogessma Beie Sisk o
Feso made the iig case o the poject that icded
bidig the Aqedct, a key eemet o his pitch as that
the ate od ead to the ceatio o 6,000 oe-hded-
ace amiy ams i the egioad, it as ieed, a
obst commity od oo. Gated, the westads
is jst a potio o that aea, bt it sti has oy abot six
hded ams. They aveage ie hded aces apiece, ad
may ae mch age tha that.
Advocates age that eay a o those six hded
westads ams ae by amiies, ad that to make a
ivig i this ood ecoomy each oe eeds a moe tha
a mee hded aces. Detactos isist that those am-
iy ams ae sed as a vei, ad poit to meos stdies
shoig the vast majoity o the ad is i copoate hads.
Its a fght that has bee goig o o decades.
Pacticay, thogh, the hoe thig comes do to
votes: thee jst aet eogh peope o the westside to
say pbic poicy i its avo, ad votes om the est o the
state ee itte easo to be sympathetic aies. See thogh
the es o dives ig p ad do I-5, this is a pace
ithot peope. It appeas that the commity hee co-
sists o Jos the sheephede ad the tighty packed vas o
amokes taveig om oe fed to the ext. Otsides
may ee compassio o the idividas they see ithi this
adscape, bt amost ithot exceptio they ee o eed to
save the commities that these idividas compose.
Cotess popa sogs have bee itte abot los
Agees ad Sa Facisco, bt thee is jst oe abot this
pace. Its Fiebagh by the pk bad the Cice Jeks,
ad its yics sm p the pevaiig attitde:
I your car breaks down
Dont take a tow to
Firebaugh, Firebaugh
A place where no one dreams
Where either race is human wasteIts here that silence
screams
Pass on by avoid this mess.
A
s mch as the ace o this pace has chaged, it
is sti a deset at heat. This meas that eve
he the ateoos ae itheigy hot, it ca
be bittey cod by midight. The tasitio betee the to,
thogh, as the s siks ad a that hot ai begis dissovig
ito the eveig skythose hos ae the gode time o day.
Fiay, o a momet, the od seems to ease p.
Evey Thsday i smme, at jst this poit i the eve-
ig, the mai steet o Fiebagh gos thick ith peope.
The occasio is the ames maket, thogh the eeky
estiva is ot exacty ike hat that tem cojes o most
peope i Caioia. (The oy sma, ogaic ame i the
aea gave p seig hee ate comig tice ad makig
oy ftee doas each time.) nasty peope deide the
evet as a Caioia vesio o Tijaa, bt it seems they
ae jst pojectig a esetmet that this to is o oge
composed pimaiy o hite peope. As a as I ca see, theFiebagh ames
maket is ike a sdde ad ode
beeze that bos thogh the to city bocks betee Go-
geos Beaty Sao ad the Casa de Oo jeey stoe, ad,
at east o a cope o hos, beathes ie ito them.
I the tets iig the steet toight thee ae pies o
peaches, oios, ad atemeos, the peats, gapes,
ad big, meaty sqashes, thei skis coveed ith ats.
Fesh, eshy opaes scaped cea o thei spies. A pape
pate o pieappe sices shoeed i cimso chie pode.
Thee ae bitos ad chos ad qesadias o sae. Bags
o pito beas ad eathe bets ad coboy boots. CDs,
DVDs, ad cheap ai cippes made i Mexico.
Ad peope. Peope! Yog copes hodig hads, od
copes eatig ega tacos. A cste o gis i matchig
Joas Bothes cocet T-shits. A gag o boys ho tho
sap-pops at the gis ad cackig thogh the cod.
The CD saesma caks p a ecod o Mexica pop, ad
the taco-cat oe acoss the o ties to do him ot
ith maiachi msic. A ma i cea cothes ith a pat i
his hai hts thogh the tash baes o cas ad bottes.
At the soth ed o the stip is a stad thats ess bsy
tha the est, jst a tet ove a cad tabe hodig thee
pape pates oth o homemade caot cpcakes ad a
bede o makig cataope smoothies. rig the
booth is a oma o abot fty, he shot hai dyed dak
ith a mageta tit. She is emiie bt stog, a godeckace at he thoat
ad comotabe bo shoes o he
eet. He ame is Macia Saba, ad i Fiebagh ee a
book, she od be its heoie.
She came hee tety-seve yeas ago om Haaii.
She ad he hsbad had siged p ith the natioa
Heath Cops, hich paid o thei medica schoo ad
the, as epaymet, assiged them to ok i ciics o the
westsidehe hsbad Osca i the to o Sa Joaqi,
ad Macia i Fiebagh. Ate thei sevice as compete,
they opeed thei o ciic ight hee o O Steet. I
2009 the to sti it togethe, stethoscopes aod thei
ecks fve days a eek.
whe shes ot at the ciic, Macia dobes as the
tos mayo. This to-pat idetity gives he a iqe
pespective o Fiebagh i the tety-fst cety. At the
ciic, she itesses the itimate coseqeces o the co-
apsig am ecoomy. Fo istace, may o he patiets
have diabetes, ad a goig mbe o them cat aod
to teat it. Its the most heatbeakig thig e see, she
says, becase thats the te o thei heathyo cat
take a beak om diabetes o a yea. Meahie, moe
ad moe patiets (chie amog them empoyed ode
me ho have itte pospect o fdig ok otside o
agicte) ae askig he to teat them o axiety ad
depessio. whe it got to be too mch o he ad Osca
aoe, they hied a -time coseo.
At the same time, as mayo, Macia mst be pagmatic
abot the te. She heas the ames hose heats ae
beakig as they se thogh these ao yeas ad
pay agaist seemigy immiet bakptcy. Ad yet, she
ecogizes that thigs i eve be the ay they sed to.She sees o poit
i agig ove hethe choices made i
the past ee ight o og, hethe iigated agicte
shod have happeed hee i the fst pace. what mattes
is that the decisios made i the past ceated this ecoomy,
ad o eveyoe i the commity depeds o i t o thei
iveihood. I he opiio, the eegy spet agig od
be bette sed evisioig the te.
As e tak i a back ofce at the ciic oe ateoo,
she fddes ith he stethoscope ad cadidy ties to ba-
ace he optimism ad he eaism. whe yo ook at the
histoy o Fiebagh, it has goe thogh a ot o dieet
egoths, she says. This type o idstia agicte has
come i ecetyit hast bee the histoy o Fiebagh.
Thee ae pety o peope ho beieve e shodt sit back
ad jst hope the ate i come. Istead, e shod be
ookig at hat the ext stage cod be.
Thees a big psh to tai the tos chide to se
comptes, both i schoo ad at a commity-sppoted
cete i to. (Today, oy aod 20 pecet o ocas
have pivate access to a compte, ad eve ee have
high-speed iteet.) The hope is that this i ao themto take pat i
the mode ecoomy. recety the soa
idsty has bee codctig tia pojects i the aea, ad
peope ae bakig o the idea that they i tai ocas to
do the ok.
whe I ask i agicte i be pat o that ext stage,
Macia ases ithot hesitatio. Defitey. This is the
most etie ad i the uited States. I jst cat imagie
that agicte odt be a pat o its te. The qes-
tio is, hat kid o agicte i it be? Is it goig to
ogaic agicte? Is it goig to be moe vae-added?
A goig mbe o peope beieve that athe tha ty-
ig to desig ays to big as mch ate hee as eve, the
sotio is to fge ot ho agicte cod svive ith
ess. Moe ad moe ames ae ocsig o ate efciecy,
doig thigs ike addig compost to the soi to icease
moiste etetio ad moitoig pats tempeate to
make se theye iigated oy he absotey ecessay.
O cose, the spoke tth is that o amot o coseva-
tio i hep i thees o ate at a, bt that fa eaity is
sti a ays o. Fo o, thees sti hope i sqeezig a e
moe yeas ot o hat ad ad ate emais.
what i this pace be a decade om o? nobody
kos. Some ames have paced thei hopes i a a-
sit fed agaist the u.S. Depatmet o the Iteio,
agig that the fsh-eated pmpig estictios ae
costittioa. Othes ae evivig the decades-od ca tobid a peiphea
caa that od pmp ate om soc-
es psteam o the Deta, theeby avoidig the damed fsh
atogethe. Meahie, moe ad moe o the empoyed
ae movig ot o to, to heeve they have eatives
ho ca oe a pace to stay ad the pospect o a job.
As atm comes to a cose, thee is siet paye that
the ite stom seaso i big eogh ai to ed the
thee-yea doght. with meteooogists pedictig a
E nio yea, chaces ae good that Caioia i have
above-aveage aia. I that happes, its possibe that i
the spig o 2010 the Bea o recamatio i gat
westads ames 100 pecet o thei aotmet om the
Aqedct. Oce agai, the Magic Gade od boom.
Ad yet, oe good yea caot sove te that ae bad. no
dege cod be big eogh to gad agaist the og-tem
eects o cimate chage ad a its coseqet chaeges.
Ideed, those ith the hadest heats might say that a et
yea od be detimeta, becase it od distact om
bidig a e visio o the teit might give peope
ase hope that the ay thigs ee might someho cotie
to be. Its te that i six moths om o thee is ate i
the westads agai, the bessig od be et by eveyoe.
Bt hat happes he, teve moths ate, the ad is oce
agai dy? wodt the seig simpy begi ae? reay,
that is the cse o ate i a pace ike this: oce yove had
it, svivig ithot it becomes a bt impossibe.
B
ack at the ames maket, Macias attetiois fxed o the peset, hich
meas maig
the bede. Poceeds om the cataope
smoothies ad the caot cpcakes (hich she baked ast
ight) i beeft the Fiebagh regioa Heath Co-
ci. Thats the ay a ot o pbic sevices aod hee ae
accompished: he the commity eeded a kids sim-
mig poo, votees aised the moey ad the bit it.
whe someoes hose bs do, the ext ight thees
a chicke-die beeft at the chch. whe someoe dies,
amiy membes coect the ea expeses by pttig a
homemade doatio box at the gas statio o the taqeia.
Poceeds om the ames maket booth i go toad
the votee-bit peschoo i to, ad toad the ee
hoiday die they tho evey yea o Chistmas Day.
Saes toight ae okay, ot bisk. Bt the, at thee cpcakes
o a doa, they cat be i it o the moey. Id gess hat
mattes moe is the itte commity that gathes hee evey
eek. Eve beoe the tet as y set p, peope aived
ith odig chais ad pated themseves i a oose semi-
cice o to the side. no they ace the maket ad sit thee
atchig it ohadedy, om eay dsk ti og ate the
taco stads have ted o thei stigs o hded-att
ight bbs i the ight.
As they sit ad atch, they tak abot othig i
patica. I oe peso eeases a commet ito the ai,
it seems ayoe ca tho oe aog behid it. I stike p
a covesatio ith Phyis Batiea. like lis, she is a
ieog esidet o Fiebagh, bt om mch the back.
Bo i 1935, she as aive og beoe the Aqedct, eve
beoe the Deta-Medota Caa. Ive boght a histoica
postcad that shos a back-ad-hite photogaph o the
tos votee fe depatmet om aod 1900, ad
she tes me the ame o each ma; oy to aet eated
to he.
Makig sma tak, I ask he ho she iked the ecet
heat aveoe hded degees o moe o tety-six
days i a o. It didt sed to be hot ike this, she epies.
The oy easo it cod be that hot o that og is that
the ate is a goe.
Bt by this she doest mea the Aqedcts aotmets.
She meas the Sa Joaqi rive, hich sed to o ight
thogh to. As a kid, she sam i it evey day o the
smme. Ad thats ot a. It had a heathy samo , the
sothemost i the uited States, ad geat big steamboats,
ig a the ay to hee om the Deta. Ideed, the
to is amed o Ade Fiebagh, the ma ho ose
to pomiece ocay by ig a eyboat that shtted
peope om oe side o the ive to the othe.
Im cosed he she tes me this. what I ko hee is
ao feds ad cocete ate-coveyace systems. I didt
eve ko thee as a ive i to.
we, thees ot aymoe, she says. Its jst a sad-
ba o.
Oe o Caioias may ate pojects dammed the
ive i the 1940s to ceate hydoeectic poe, coto
oodig, ad divet ate ito caas so that it cod be
eaty distibted to ames o iigatio. At fst the hoe
thig stikes me as sad, ad ioicimagie hat they
cod do ith that ate today. Bt the eaity is that the
ate o the Sa Joaqi rive is jst oe thead i a teibe
kot o decisios made abot ate i the Ceta Vaey.To beieve yo cod
tage it om the est ad someho
amet it sepaatey od be ave.
A ma o a chai to the ight oes that o Octobe 1
they i eease ate ito the dy ivebed o the fst time
i decades. A oma to the et chimes i that its the est
o asits boght by peope seekig to estoe the samo
. I am spised eogh that thee as oce a samo
hee, bt I am icedos that they thik thee cod beoe agai i the
te.
we, it be a og time beoe ay ate actay
eaches hee, the ma cocedes. Thees a ot o ivebed
to f betee hee ad thee.
Ad eve i it does each hee, Phyis says, I dobt it
i eve be the same.
I by a cataope smoothie o the oad ad head o
my tck. By the time Im at a stopight a bock aay, I ca
hea oy the thobbig bass o the Mexica pop, the msic
itse epaced by a attig eigeatio system behid the
spemaket. Ot hee the id is p, ad the amth o
this pace has bee scked p ito the back ight.
I dive acoss Highay 33 ad oto nees Avee, the
path back to I-5. Its dak hee, except o the occasioa
ash o ie: a cop-dste pae, its igs it p ad sig-
ig idy as it dips ad ts, back ad oth aog a fed.
A tomato havest ig, its okes pickig ad sotig de
oodights. Ad the tcks, o cose, baeig aog ith
thei dobe taies o tomatoes o meos o oios. Com-
ig toad me they have a bidig eect, bt i ot o
me they seve as a se, i sighty hazados, gide to the
ighttime oad.
I sette i behid oe ad oo it a the ay to the
itestate. As the dive egotiates the cve o the o-
amp, I see a ave o tomatoes ash ove the side o the
taie ad oto the god. I jek the bakes ad go o-
ad soy ito the cve myse. I that momet I gace
back to my ight, toad Fiebagh, o oe ast ook, bt
a I ca see is a fed o back boke p by a e smdges
o ight. I take the est o the cve ith iceasig speed,
ad ithi a mite I have ae ito ie ith a theothe tavees, divig
eighty mies a ho toad home,
ad aay om hee.
the habitat o a edageed, fge-egth fsh caed the
Deta smet took pioity ove pmpig ate to sppy
ames ho eeded it.
Ate Caioia had ate-spig ais, the Bea
aoced that westads ames od i act eceive 10
pecet o thei ate aocatio. It as bette tha oth-
ig, bt it sti ast eogh o most ames. They mst
pa thei yea i advace, as eay as the pevios atm,
i ode to sece podctio cotacts ith byes,
pchase seed, pepae the ad, ad so o. Becase this
type o agicte is vey capita-itesive, pat o that
paig is gettig a opeatig oa; they boo om
the bak at the begiig o the seaso, ad epay ate
havest. This yea, ith vitay o ate to go a cop,
may o those ho optimisticay took ot oas eay o
i be abe to pay them back. Thee ee pety o pes-
simists ho didt gambe by takig ot a oaate a,
this is the thid yea sice 2005 he they eceived 50 pe-
cet o ess o thei ate aocatio. Bt ho mch bette
o ee they? withot a opeatig oa, most i key thei
ad podced o i come eithe.
Becase o both sceaios, its aticipated that a ot oames i the
westads i go bakpt this yea. Ad so
a ot o peope i the aea ae sad these days, ad scaed.
Theye aso agy. Doght ad cimate chage dot oe
a cea cpit. Bt that fshboy, do peope o the westside
hate that goddamed fsh. As oe esidet amed lis Ga-
egos tes me, Yo have a these bioogists takig abot
The fsh! The fsh! we gotta save these fsh! Bt hat abot
the peope? I mea, hat abot these tos? what happes
to s?
A
othe hot Agst day i the westads. u-
de beatig s Im divig the gid o dsty
oads, ookig o oe that is caed Shieds
Avee, hich poves to be o moe tha aothe dit tack
amidst the cotess feds. I t oto the oad ad a ha-
mie do I fd hat Ive come hee o: a io tee. As
I dive p to it, ie cos y ot o the ppe eaches ad
cice the sky above. I ca hea thei igs beatig the ai
its the oy sod i this sti pace.
Itsoddtohavea illohere.Theyreatertrees,their
greenleavesaccustomedtohangingdoninthedarkcool
overacreek;theleavesonthistree hangoverabandonedur-
rosocrumblingsoil.Butthistreehasmanagedtogetpretty
bignonetheless,at leasttentyeettall.Deadbranchesreach-
ingoutromthetrunksuggestit usedtobeevenbroader.
I eaed abot the tee om lis, a ieog esidet
o the to o Fiebagh, jst a e mies east o hee. I
1973, his athe came to Feso Coty om Gadaajaa.
(lis, bo i 1980, kos this stoy oy thogh isteig
to his amiy te it.) Ate to yeas o okig i the feds,
his athe saved eogh moey to big his ie, daghte,
ad o sos oth. whe the amiy aived i Fiebagh
he didt have a hose o them, so o the fst e days
they ived ight hee, de this io tee. As
I stad o the had oad shiedig my eyes om the s,
I imagie them shitig thei positio evey ho o so to
oo the sice o shade.
liss mothe as a amoke o eay thity yeas.
His athe sti oks o ams, thogh these days he
dives a tactosevea aks above the hoy empoyees
ho pick tomatoes o hoe eeds. As a chid, lis ad his
sibigs spet smme vacatios havestig meos ad
pickig ccmbes, thity-fve cets pe fve-gao bcket.
The moey et toad byig schoo cothes ad payig
the amiys bis.
Bt that as eve thei iteded tea bette ie
as the pimay easo o comig hee i the fst pace.
His paets evetay boght a hose; i the backyad they
have a io, pated om a cttig o the Shieds Avee
tee. lis et to coege ad the came back to Fiebagh,
hee he o oks as a pest-coto adviso ad agic-
ta costat. He dives a ice tck (ideed, he gives me
a good-ated tease abot ho cappy my o tck is).
He o has a ie ad to kids, ad os a hose o his
o i the ice, soth side o to, ext to the ma ho
as his eighth-gade math teache.whe e fst came to Fiebagh, they
odt ao
Mexicas o this side o to, he tes me. no thee ae
thee o s hee. He smied.
liss ace is dakback hai sicked back, heavy
eyebos above dak eyes, a ide mostache cvig ith
his ppe ip. He is a ovehemigy easy, iedy gy,
ot qite thity bt se-possessed a beyod his yeas. He
doest badmoth peopeat east ot to my easad his
oy hash ods ae o the ijstices he sees aod him.
Fo yeas he has give tos o this pace to otsides,
mosty cotto byes ad textie desiges, i hopes o ed-
catig peope abot this ed o the idstia sppy chai.
Oe ateoo at the tai ed o the smme cataope
seaso, he takes me o a to o the aea, statig i to.
we begi at the taqeia, bt om thee e go staight to
his tckthis is ot a akig to. I the ateoos bis-
teig sight, the oy peope otside ae a had o me
otside thei shops, tcked de the aigs.
lis is itesey devoted to Fiebagh, ad as he dives
he ists its otstadig eates. The seemig sbtext is that
these ae the thigs that make it ot jst a good pace, bt
a acta commity. whie othe tos ae simpy pa-
toed by the shei, Fiebagh has a poice depatmet o
its o. O, as he phases it, we have a poice depatmet.
Aso a phamacy, to ato-pats stoes, to hadae
stoes, ad to eemetay schoos.
At the same time, lis poits ot the sigs o deteio-
atio: a oma goig doo to doo seig tamaes ot
o a bcket, a amiy hodig a yad sae o a Thsday
ateoo. This yea, Fiebagh has hed its fst-eve
ood dives, bi-eeky evets that egay da 1,500
peope to stad i i e o ee caed goods. To the soth,
Medota has a astoishig 37.4 pecet jobess ate. I
Agst, the jobess ate hee as 28 pecetmoe tha
oe i o peope.
The geeay bad Ameica ecoomy is pat o the
pobem, bt the geate isse is that Fiebaghs ecoomy
is competey depedet o agicte. So he lis dives
me to the empty feds o the westads, his pespective gives
the pace e dimesio. we pass abadoed amoke
hosig, og os o bidigs hose idos have og
sice shatteed ito pies o gass o the god. we pass
a pomegaate ochad, each tee stg tat ith eecti-
fed ie to gad agaist those ho od stea the it.
I time, e pass a spot hee lis sed to ok o a eed
ce, sig a too they ca a cybaby becase sig it
makes a pesos back ache so teiby. no ook at this
pace, he says ith disgst. Eosio. Tmbeeeds. Evey
time I dive by, it toches me.
That is his ice ay o sayig that it kis him that this
ad od ie ao he it cod be povidig jobs ad
eedig peope. Im spised to hea him say itId thik
he od be ess sympathetic toad the system that oce
oked him to the boe. Bt ceay I dot get it.
Its i my bood, he expais. whe my paets came
hee, it meat a bette ie. weve a doe somethig ith
it. Ad my atheI thik he od go happie divig o
a tacto tha passig aay o a od hospita bed. Thats
ho the peope i these tos ae. O iveihood depedso eedig the uited
States.
lis tes me that i these ate isses aet esoved
soo, eve he i be ot o a jobhis hoe amiy i. He
eas havig to eave Fiebagh, ike so may peope ecety
have. I sese om his toe that it od be a kid o death.
AndImluckyImean,Icouldlearnanothertrade.
withoutthisater,andthearming,alot othesepeople
donthavelie.A manhosftyyearsold,hesnotgoing
togobackto schooliall hesknonisarming.Hecantell
youhomanyacre-eetoaterto putonyouralmonds,
butthatsit. Yourenotgoingtoretrainhimtobea computer
programmer.
like may peope i the commity, lis is idig-
at that moey appeas to be yig et ad ight these
daysto baks, to pogams ike cash o ckesbt
vitay oe is diected at hepig commities i the
Sa Joaqi Vaey svive the ate cisis. Ad yet hees
the heat o the diemma. That hypothetica moey might
sppot socia sevices that cod ease the bo, ad it might
ao ivestmet i ateative idsties that cod take
p some o the ecoomys sack. Bt moey aoe caot
immediatey sove the ecoomic cisis takig pace o the
westside. Oy oe thig ca: ate.
t
hat is ot to say that moey cat by ate.
A peso ith eogh capita ist oced ot
becase the sppy om the Aqedct ceases.
wes ca be died ad godate pmped p om the
depthsthee jst has to be a good easo to do it. I the
westads that meas a cash cop sch as pomegaates o
hoeyde meos, hich se o a high eogh pice that
the ivestmet is eted.
To it: jst a e mies aay om hee lis ad
I toed the dst bo, abot eighty aces o amod tees
ee beig deched i ate. Thei cop as aeady ipe
ad eady to be picked; the iigatios ppose as to
pmp p the ts ith ate eight. no matte that that
moiste od be ost i the dyig pocess; the poit as
to maximize the havest eight ad, i t, the check the
ame od eceive. Moe tha eve, amig these days
is a bsiess o mbes. I the bottom ie oks ot, the
ate ca be od. neay ha o the westads may be
ao, bt moe tha ha o it is sti y i podctio. At
the ight time o yea, dobe-taie havest tcks ae moe
commo hee tha passege cas.
The obvios dage is that godate is a agie
esoce, ad oe that ca easiy be exhasted. Ideed, a
pimay easo o bidig the Caioia Aqedct asthat the Ceta Vaeys ate
tabe had bee oeed so
dasticay by pmpig, agey o agicte. I the 1970s,
ate deiveed om the Deta did coect the sitatio tem-
poaiy, both by eievig the eed to pmp ad addig to
the tota ate bdget o the Vaey so that godate
as atay epeished. Bt that sotio oks oy i
et yeas, he its possibe to impot ate om the Deta.
I dy yeas, the mass pmpig begis agai. Dig the ast
thee yeas doght the ate tabe has dopped as mch as
o hded eet.
what this meas, ocas i te yo, is that the oe the
mikshake gets, the oge yo sta mst be to get a dik.
Thees cety a boomig bsiess i addig extesios to
existig es to sed them deepe. Those diig e es
o the westside egay go to oe thosad eet beo the
sace. Eve the, thees o gaatee that the sta ot
soo be sckig p ai as the mikshake coties to dai.
A coseqece o a this godate pmpig is the
pheomeo ko as sbsidece. As cetai ayes o the
eath ose the ate that oce fed thei o-soid spaces,
they compess; at god eve, the ad siks. A 2009 u.S.
Geoogica Svey (uSGS) epot etited Godate
Avaiabiity o the Ceta Vaey Aqie, Caioia esti-
mated that ha o the Sa Joaqi Vaey has sk at east
a oot as a est o sbsidece. I oe pace ithi the gid,
the eath sak moe tha tety-ie eet.
A geoogist om the Caioia Depatmet o wate
gave me diectios so I cod go see that spot, thogh he tod
me I od be ooish to visit. The sbsidece thee happeed
dig the godate ovedat that took pace beoe the
Aqedct bega deiveig ate. Thees a uSGS photo o
it om 1977, hich shos geoogist Joseph Poad ext to
a teephoe poe maked ay p high, hee the ad as
AqueDuCt[continued from page 3]
14: wAter
But money alone cannot
immediately solve the economic
crisis taking place on the Westside.
Only one thing can: water.
What matters is that the decisions made in the past created this
economy, and
now everyone in the community depends on it for their
livelihood.
