The Death of Satire: RFK, Jr. Greenwashes Arnold’s War on Salmon

The Death of Satire: RFK, Jr. Greenwashes Arnold’s War on Salmon

By Dan Bacher

Political satire in the United States will officially die tonight, April 14.

That’s when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper, will honor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the worst Governor for fish and the environment in California history, for his “environmental advocacy.”

Schwarzenegger will be honored at the “Riverkeeper’s Annual Fishermen’s Ball” at Pier Sixty on the Hudson River in New York City at a dinner fundraiser that will begin at 6:30 p.m. Spike Lee will also present an award to HBO during the event (http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/events/rvk-events/the-fishermens-ball).

No late night comedian, inflammatory radio talk show host or other practitioner of political satire could come up with a scenario this bizarre no matter how they try. Reality, particularly in Schwarzenegger’s California, has become a self-parody, a living satirical comedy that knows no bounds.

Kennedy and the Riverkeeper are giving this award in spite of the deluge of letters and phone calls from conservationists, fishermen and environmental justice advocates blasting them for honoring Schwarzenegger. During his tenure, Schwarzenegger has presided over the unprecedented collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, striped bass, threadfin shad, American shad and other fish populations in the California Delta.

Confronted by pleas by fish advocates to withdraw the award to Schwarzenegger because of his abysmal environmental record, Kennedy and Riverkeeper staff have not only proceeded forward with their plans to honor Schwarzenegger, but they have refused to respond to the barrage of phone calls and letters.

In fact, a Riverkeeper spokesman would only speak on the condition of anonymity to reporters from the Sacramento Bee, and the Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow (New York) Patch to explain why they would honor Schwarzenegger in spite of such widespread opposition to his environmental policies.

“The group is honoring Schwarzenegger specifically for his work on climate change, according to a press contact who declined to be named for this post,” reported Kevin Yamamura in his article in the Sacramento Bee (http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/04/ny-water-enviro.html).

Likewise, a Riverkeeper official, who did not want to be named, told Dan Wiessner of the Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow Patch, "The governor's work speaks for itself. He's recognized across the world for his work in combating global climate change." (http://tarrytown.patch.com/articles/green-governator-or-fish-terminator)

The Riverkeeper’s mission is “to protect the ecological integrity of the Hudson River and its tributaries, and to safeguard the drinking water supply of New York City and the lower Hudson Valley.”

The Hudson Riverkeeper, founded by commercial and recreational fishermen in Tarrytown 40 years ago, has spawned a nationwide network of more than 150 groups, including many in California, that lobby for clean water and other environmental initiatives.

Since Schwarzenegger took office in 2003 in a recall election, he has waged a relentless war on salmon, salmon fishermen and the environment in California that is diametrically opposed to the Riverkeeper’s mission of protecting the “ecological integrity” of rivers. His administration has become known for its numerous conflicts of interests, corruption and violation of the state’s environmental laws.

In the latest Field Pool, California voters gave Schwarzenegger the lowest rating of his career, with his approval dropping to only 23 percent in March, down from 27 percent in October. This is as low as Governor Gray Davis’s rating was in 2003 before he was recalled in a special election.

I suspect that Schwarzenegger may be receiving the award because of his close relationship to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other Kennedy family members through his marriage to Maria Shriver.

Regardless of the reasoning behind it, the honoring of Schwarzenegger in an insult to the fishermen, Indian Tribes, environmentalists and others who have been under assault by his policies. Kennedy and the Riverkeeper, by giving “green cover” to Schwarzenegger, are in effect endorsing his war on fish and fishermen. This is greenwashing at its worst and most shameless.

There is no doubt that George W. Bush, a man that Kennedy repeatedly criticized for his bad environmental policies, ravaged fish and the environment during his long eight years in office. However, Schwarzenegger has exceeded even Bush's fervor in his war on fish and the environment –and Kennedy and the Riverkeeper are honoring him!

The Hudson Riverkeeper is honoring Schwarzenegger the "Green Governor" for his incessant and cynical grandstanding on "global warming" and "green energy." Since being elected in 2003, Schwarzenegger’s record includes the following examples of “environmental advocacy":

• He allowed the Department of Water Resources to pump record levels of water out of the Delta from 2004 to 2007, resulting in the current Central Valley salmon and California Delta pelagic species collapses.The largest annual water export levels in history occurred in 2003 (6.3 million acre feet), 2004 (6.1 MAF), 2005 (6.5 MAF) and 2006 (6.3 MAF). Exports averaged 4.6 MAF annually between 1990 and 1999 and increasing to an average of 6 MAF between 2000 and 2007, a rise of almost 30 percent, according to the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.

• He has vetoed numerous environmental bills, including a badly needed bill by Lois Wolk that would provide for emergency fish rescue plans.

• He has consistently slashed funding for game wardens in the field while California has the lowest ratio of wardens to residents of any state in the nation.

• He directed the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board to continue to grant waivers to agricultural polluters, in spite of the dire condition of Delta fisheries.

• Since 2004, he has fast-tracked a controversial Marine Protected Area (MPA) process filled with conflicts of interest and corruption that kicks sustainable fishermen, Indian tribal members and seaweed harvesters off the water while refusing to deal with pollution, coastal development and other human uses of the ocean that have lead to fishery declines.

• Schwarzenegger recently introduced a bill that would allow the lame-duck Governor to choose 25 development projects each year that would be exempt from the state's strict standards under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (http://www.ecovote.org/blog/?p=1674).

However, Schwarzenegger’s greatest passion is to make the Delta a polluted "fish-free" zone by campaigning with Senator Dianne Feinstein for a massive peripheral canal and more dams that will cost an estimated $23 billion to $53.8 billion at a time that the state of California doesn't have enough money to pay for its teachers, game wardens and health care for children.

In November, Schwarzenegger and Legislative Leaders pushed through a controversial water policy/water bond package that creates a clear path to the peripheral canal and new dams. If not stopped, the canal will likely lead to the extinction of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations.

In addition, at photo opportunities and in press conferences Schwarzenegger has continually attacked the court-ordered biological opinions for Delta smelt and Central Valley salmon. These plans conclude that current water pumping operations in the Federal Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project should be changed to ensure survival of Delta smelt, winter and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, the southern population of North American green sturgeon and southern Resident killer whales. The whales rely on Chinook salmon runs for food.

“This federal biological opinion puts fish above the needs of millions of Californians and the health and security of the world’s eighth largest economy," claimed Schwarzenegger in a press release on June 4, 2009. "The piling on of one federal court decision after another in a species-by-species approach is killing our economy and undermining the integrity of the Endangered Species Act” (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/06/04/18600502.php).

Schwarzenegger neglected to point out that sustainable fisheries contribute billions of dollars to the California economy and thousands of jobs. He also failed to note that his administration’s polices of record exports have led to the collapse of fall run Chinook salmon, the driver of West Coast salmon fisheries (http://www.counterpunch.org/bacher02122010.html).

A record low of only 39,530 fall Chinook adults returned to the Sacramento River basin to spawn in 2009. This contrasts with nearly 800,000 salmon in 2002.

Southwick Associates have estimated that the season closures caused by the collapse of Central Valley salmon cost an estimated 23,000 jobs and $2.8 billion in the California economy alone, according to Dick Pool, administrator of water4fish.org. California has over 2,000 small and medium businesses that derive most or all of their income from the recreational and commercial salmon industry.

So tonight a “Fishermens’ Ball,” sponsored by a group that was founded by commercial and recreational fishermen, will “honor” for his “environmental advocacy” a Governor that is the greatest enemy of fish, fishermen and the environment in California history.

Although I have admired R.F.K. Jr. and the Riverkeeper for their great efforts to restore the Hudson River, they have flushed their credibility down the toilet of history by honoring the “Fish Terminator” for his “environmental advocacy” tonight.

“The award is a farce,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, campaign director of Restore the Delta. “Schwarzenegger is perpetuating a water delivery system that will wipe out what’s left of California’s salmon run and will deal the final death blow to the Delta. This award is a classic example of greenwashing.”

“Governor Schwarzenegger’s term has been a disaster as far as protection of water quality and fisheries in California is concerned,” said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and former Deltakeeper, who emphasized that he has enormous respect for RFK, Jr., and his environmental work. “Schwarzenegger has used his stance on air quality as a cover and shield for the harm he has done on water issues.”

Jennings, whose organization has 55 pending appeals and several lawsuits directed against the Schwarzenegger administration, is puzzled why the Riverkeeper, an organization that focuses on water quality, is awarding the Governor for his stance on air quality.

The Governor's remarks from the “Fishermen’s Ball” will be webcast live at http://www.gov.ca.gov.

I urge you to write, call and email the Riverkeeper to let you know them how you feel about the Riverkeeper's honoring the "Fish Terminator at: 828 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591, Phone: 800-21-RIVER, Email: info [at] riverkeeper.org.