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california has plenty of water for the people here, we do not have plenty of water to grow almonds and alfalfa in millions of acres in the central valley. Agric
by tmh79 8y ago
california has plenty of water for the people here, we do not have plenty of water to grow almonds and alfalfa in millions of acres in the central valley. Agriculture is like 80% of all CA water usage. If you include golf courses and lawns in that, it bumps it up to ~95%.
- TooBrokeToBeg 8y agoAlso the Nestle and other commercial water rights holders from the 1800s who siphon the southbound rivers dry, flowing toward Los Angeles. Good thing they just bottle that water and sell it back.
- adventured 8y agoWater used to grow almonds - 1.1 trillion gallons per year - is just about enough to provide water for around 23 million people in California (~59% of the population). A $5-$6 billion crop, consuming half the residential water for a $2.7 trillion economy. If you include alfalfa, which is even worse than almonds, it's something comparable to 150% of all the residential water use in California. It's a spectacular failure on the part of the state of California. Where are the famous CA voter propositions when you need them? A large share of the alfalfa and almonds - aka California's water - gets exported to Asia. It's social and economic suicide for meager benefits.