
Los Angeles Fire: Donald Trump had recently ridiculed the Delta Smelt by calling it a useless fish. He had said on social media and in a press conference that in order to save this fish, there was difficulty in extinguishing the devastating fire in the forests of Los Angeles.
After this statement he is facing a lot of criticism. Experts say that in reality, California’s Delta smelt have minimal connection to the city’s water supply. He said that this statement of Donald Trump shows the chaotic and short-sighted nature of his environmental policies.
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In fact, Los Angeles is facing shortage of water to extinguish the forest fires. During this time, water is not coming here even from Southern California because Delta smelt fish is found in the rivers here. Environmentalists are opposing the extraction of water from the rivers here.
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John Buse, general counsel of the Center for Biological Diversity, told AFP: “They want to divert everyone’s anger in another direction. In this case, fires and drought are to blame. This is an authoritarian move. We will not see such people in Trump 2.0. More statements to be seen.
These fishes have been declared endangered
“It was once one of the most abundant fishes in upper estuaries, feeding on predators,” said Peter Moyle, a University of California, Davis-based fisheries biologist who is the leading expert on the species. However, due to diversion of water for agricultural and urban use, hunting, and declining food sources, the Delta smelt was declared “threatened” in 1993 and “endangered” by California in 2009. Was.
According to Moyle, massive federal and state-run pumping stations divert water from northern areas southward, creating challenges for smelt and other aquatic life. The increase in salinity caused by these pumping operations harms fish, and many of them die after becoming entangled in nets or being diverted to canals.
Climate change is the real problem
Caleb Scoville, a sociologist at Tufts University, said that the legal protection of the Delta smelt has been controversial because it has been taken to political advantage. But the root cause of California’s water problem is climate change.