The San Joaquin: A River Betrayed

Rating:
Summary: MUST read for any river lover
Review: I live near the San Joaquin river near Tracy California and this book is the FIRST publication that tells the truth about how dead this once beautiful river has become. The books lays out the history of the river and has wonderful photographs to document the authors facts.

Especially telling is Chapter Fourteen (14) where the author tells how we California citizens became aware of the mess at the San Luis National Wildlife Area, and at Kesterson where wildlife was being found dead and either eggs or newly hatched birds had terrible malformations.

The photo on page 128 of the discarded cars, tires and other trash between Gravelly Ford and Mendota Pool in the river is just what we find along Paradise road North East of Tracy, where lazy people dump their JUNK !!

In the 1990's although I am a vegetarian I decided to fish near the bridge on Paradise and caught a catfish that looked odd. Turned out it was odd. It had tumors. This books tells the truth about what the pollution and garbage being ALLOWED into the river is doing to fish and ALL wildlife in the river. Fact is this isnt a river anymore but a cesspool.

I have pics of the river on my own webpage and it shows as this book does that dairies with thousands of heads of cattle that produce millions of gallons of feces and urine that seep into the groundwater and out into the river along with the waste pipes that farmers have that pump pesticide rich irrigation "water" back into the river where it harms fish, birds as well as plantlife. The river REALLY is green slime and DEAD.

I am sad that this is the first review the book has gotten but will put the book on my webpage in hopes that it gets more attention. It is important to note that many people of colour who also happen to be poor, fish the river for catfish to suppliment their food budget. The fact that public officials don't give a damn that people could be getting sick form the bad fish makes me mad as well.

Cannot thank Gene Rose and Word Dancer Press in Clovis California east of Fresno for daring to write and publish this book. It made me cry as someone whose family has been in California since the early 1800's and SOLID ecology minded folk.

Please buy a copy of this book if you live in California, and give it to your local school and public library. And if you love RIVERS and live outside do the same for yourself and your local libraries.