Kent Mitchell: Hopefully, most farmers don’t agree with Michelena
Re “State’s water troubles man-made” (Opinions, Feb. 22): After initially attempting to rationalize the overuse of groundwater for agricultural purposes, columnist John Michelena goes into a rant against environmentalism, Pope Francis (yes, really), and the “touchy-feely dogma of protecting the earth.”
Wow, where to start? God forbid we should actually care for this planet God has given us. Many of us who go into wilderness areas of natural beauty know how such places renew the spirit. We need to be good caretakers and stewards of the land so that future generations also have this opportunity and a healthy planet on which to thrive. This requires a recognition that our actions do not occur in a vacuum, but affect others as well as the planet. This is a different construct from having the right to extract from the Earth whatever we want, no matter how others are affected.
I have to credit Michelena for clearly stating the argument a few believe but rarely state, except perhaps on right-wing talk radio. I do hope, however, he does not speak for the majority of the agricultural community.
Kent Mitchell, Riverbank
This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Kent Mitchell: Hopefully, most farmers don’t agree with Michelena."