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The Colorado River doesn't have a lot of water by the time it gets to California, and the metropolises on the coast use a lot of it. If they really need freshw

The Colorado River doesn't have a lot of water by the time it gets to California, and the metropolises on the coast use a lot of it. If they really need freshwater for this, they will have to fight a lot of people for it.

kurthr 5y ago
I'm sorry I just broke out into laughter... you have to fight the FARMERS for it. The people in those cities (with their green lawns, golf courses, cemetaries, and fountains) just get what's left. Maybe they get 10-20% of the Colorado flows?
- mullingitover 5y ago
  Plus, for all the noise farmers make, in California agriculture's contribution to the state GDP is fairly trivial, in the low single digits. At the scale this lithium mining operation could work, I imagine they would massively outbid the farmers for the water. Indeed, if we gave up on farming in the area, we could cut an aqueduct from the Sea of Cortez and restore the Salton Sea to a thriving inland riviera. The real estate and tourism revenues would likely more than make up for the farming revenues.
  - jelliclesfarm 5y ago
    Upwards of 350 billion as an industry(including education, food industry, transportation, logistics, ag inputs jobs that rely on California ag) isn’t trivial.
  - throwaway1777 5y ago
    It may be a small portion of gdp but we need to eat so it’s important…
    - mullingitover 5y ago
      California agriculture doesn't produce a lot of important dietary staples, and the ones it does can pretty easily be grown in places that don't suffer from frequent droughts.
      - NoRagrets 5y ago
        Most of California’s ag produces greens and produce that feeds the rest of the country( ‘salad bowl’ of America and strawberries etc). We are also number 1 with canning tomatoes. We also export an embarrassment of nuts. With indoor ag, they can be substituted..but at great cost. California ag is ridiculously uber optimized and on very thin margins. We feed millions. Abs cheaply. Mostly because we convert fossil fuels into calories. And forex. We sacrificed our dairy industry because it’s cheaper to export alfafa to China in shipping containers than to truck it within CA. The economies of scale is messed up. But because we exported thirsty alfafa during a drought ..we were essentially exporting water for china’s dairy industry. Once again using fossil fuels. Having said that, central coast/Monterrey/Salinas region will deal with salt water intrusion in max 30 years…guaranteed. Central Valley is already having to deal with ground water contamination. Our aquifers risk running dry with every subsequent drought. We are better off with every metric from conservation, carbon sequestration to water usage efficiency if we did away with the badge of pride(over $50 billion worth..highest in nation..far second is Iowa at 25 something.) that is CA Big Ag(rather diff from National big Ag). However, ag in Ca supports a crap ton of jobs that can’t be replaced. Most of them are low paying or middle class jobs. We are a state with a large teacher/tenured profs population, service sector and many many unionized essential jobs. This demographic has to be supported. Minimum basic income won’t cut it because they come with pension benefits. So now we have a problem that Sacramento cannot solve if they interfere with status quo. Don’t know what the solution is..but the problem is obvious and glaring. Most of this Ag sector is going to disappear when the cheapest resource…land and water becomes useless to the big industrial farmers who have grandfathered water rights. California ag and water rights is intricately connected to its politics. It’s just a matter of creating a powerful energy lobby to supplant the ag one in Sacramento. But it won’t be easy. Their reach goes as far as D.C. but certainly doable. I only hope that when CA ag crashes…and it will within 3 decades max..we are self sufficient for our food supply and energy.

kurthr 5y ago

I'm sorry I just broke out into laughter... you have to fight the FARMERS for it. The people in those cities (with their green lawns, golf courses, cemetaries, and fountains) just get what's left. Maybe they get 10-20% of the Colorado flows?

mullingitover 5y ago
Plus, for all the noise farmers make, in California agriculture's contribution to the state GDP is fairly trivial, in the low single digits. At the scale this lithium mining operation could work, I imagine they would massively outbid the farmers for the water. Indeed, if we gave up on farming in the area, we could cut an aqueduct from the Sea of Cortez and restore the Salton Sea to a thriving inland riviera. The real estate and tourism revenues would likely more than make up for the farming revenues.
- jelliclesfarm 5y ago
  Upwards of 350 billion as an industry(including education, food industry, transportation, logistics, ag inputs jobs that rely on California ag) isn’t trivial.
- throwaway1777 5y ago
  It may be a small portion of gdp but we need to eat so it’s important…
  - mullingitover 5y ago
    California agriculture doesn't produce a lot of important dietary staples, and the ones it does can pretty easily be grown in places that don't suffer from frequent droughts.
    - NoRagrets 5y ago
      Most of California’s ag produces greens and produce that feeds the rest of the country( ‘salad bowl’ of America and strawberries etc). We are also number 1 with canning tomatoes. We also export an embarrassment of nuts. With indoor ag, they can be substituted..but at great cost. California ag is ridiculously uber optimized and on very thin margins. We feed millions. Abs cheaply. Mostly because we convert fossil fuels into calories. And forex. We sacrificed our dairy industry because it’s cheaper to export alfafa to China in shipping containers than to truck it within CA. The economies of scale is messed up. But because we exported thirsty alfafa during a drought ..we were essentially exporting water for china’s dairy industry. Once again using fossil fuels. Having said that, central coast/Monterrey/Salinas region will deal with salt water intrusion in max 30 years…guaranteed. Central Valley is already having to deal with ground water contamination. Our aquifers risk running dry with every subsequent drought. We are better off with every metric from conservation, carbon sequestration to water usage efficiency if we did away with the badge of pride(over $50 billion worth..highest in nation..far second is Iowa at 25 something.) that is CA Big Ag(rather diff from National big Ag). However, ag in Ca supports a crap ton of jobs that can’t be replaced. Most of them are low paying or middle class jobs. We are a state with a large teacher/tenured profs population, service sector and many many unionized essential jobs. This demographic has to be supported. Minimum basic income won’t cut it because they come with pension benefits. So now we have a problem that Sacramento cannot solve if they interfere with status quo. Don’t know what the solution is..but the problem is obvious and glaring. Most of this Ag sector is going to disappear when the cheapest resource…land and water becomes useless to the big industrial farmers who have grandfathered water rights. California ag and water rights is intricately connected to its politics. It’s just a matter of creating a powerful energy lobby to supplant the ag one in Sacramento. But it won’t be easy. Their reach goes as far as D.C. but certainly doable. I only hope that when CA ag crashes…and it will within 3 decades max..we are self sufficient for our food supply and energy.