4 ms·
Just a reminder that California has a ton of water. Plenty to supply all the people and lawns and a bunch of agriculture. What it doesn't have is enough to send
by wnissen 5y ago
Just a reminder that California has a ton of water. Plenty to supply all the people and lawns and a bunch of agriculture. What it doesn't have is enough to send a million tons of alfalfa overseas at $200 a pop. Each ton uses more water than a household does in a year. I bet you paid way more than $200 in water bills last year.
Yes, there are many locations that are actually short on water for real. Some of them are in very bad shape, with depleted reservoirs and aquifers and no prospect for access to more water resources. But the vast majority of Californians are getting their water from places where there would be surplus if the consumption wasn't so heavily subsidized. Read Cadillac Desert, it's a masterpiece and an eye opener.
- oh_sigh 5y agoI feel like there needs to be some kind of reckoning when it comes to water rights in CA. Like, say that water rights will be rationalized 25 years from now. Maybe it can be done under the guise of eminent domain. Give farmers who are getting essentially taxpayer subsidized free water enough time to prepare for it, and then 25 years from now create some kind of market based system where water goes to 1) people, and 2) whoever can use it most productively. Farmers can buy/sell water futures if they need higher certainty in what they will pay rather than a rate based on demand. It just doesn't make sense that the fact that a plot of land which was occupied 300+ years ago is setting the precedent for how we use water today.
- richk449 5y agoFor an incredibly enjoyable fictional take on this, read The Water Knife, which posits a climate change driven future in which ancient water rights basically determine the survival of people and are thus the cause of violent struggle.