The age of aquarium

I’m off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in a few minutes, for a spring-break visit to the new Splash Zone. But first, a couple of news stories.

The report on the Sierra snowpack just came out, and it’s funny how our two local papers spin the news. The Mercury trumpets: Sierra Report: No 2008 Drought, while the Chronicle is a bit more realistic: Sierra snowpack won’t fill reservoirs. Both articles point out that our share of Sierra water, as conveyed through the Delta, is going to be smaller this year, as pumping is restricted to aid the endangered smelts.

And as I leave for the home of the Seafood Watch card, I will not be eating salmon of any kind, any time soon. We’re already facing a summer without local salmon. And today’s New York Times reports on the unsustainable practices in Chilean salmon farms, whence come much of our supply. Especially disturbing was the image of Marine Harvest’s packing up to move on to unpolluted waters after fouling their current site, incidentally leaving local workers without their jobs.