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> Maybe we don’t “need” to use that much (whatever “need” is supposed to mean) He's talking minimal human survival. Though that depends on temperatures, body

> Maybe we don’t “need” to use that much (whatever “need” is supposed to mean) He's talking minimal human survival. Though that depends on temperatures, body weight and activity level: http://www.aircav.net/survival/asch13/fig13-2.gif http://www.aircav.net/survival/asch13/fig13-2.gif https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/e1/22/f2e122972c93b1f2a67e45d76c9fdbdd.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/e1/22/f2e122972c93b1f2a67e...

oofbey 4y ago
Which is a completely pointless reference when discussing municipal water supplies.
- NoahKAndrews 4y ago
  The point being made is that a single almond requires more water than a human. Not that modern humans don't use much water in their day-to-day lives.
  - dr_dshiv 4y ago
    Yeah, but then that isn’t factual either. The almond doesn’t need the water, the almond tree does (and we divide that by the number of almonds produced). Similarly, we would want to compare how much water a state uses, divided by the people. Both the almond and the person don’t take that much water, but as part of a larger necessary system, they do.
    - msrenee 4y ago
      The tree is obviously the thing being watered, but what I can find does say that it's about 1.1 gallons per single almond. So multiply that by the number of almonds on the tree and that's what each tree needs in a growing season. Farmtogether.com claims that number is about 30% too high, but here is the mission statement for the company: "Our Mission: To bring creative and transformative capital to farming while opening up a vital asset class to all investors.". Might be a little biased. Still leaves you at over 3/4 of a gallon per individual almond. Anyway, I don't know anything about almonds. I do remember seeing the pecan orchards in New Mexico flooded 2 feet deep in an area where most people didn't even attempt a lawn or any gardening that didn't involve cactus. And the dairies. Dairy cows take a lot of feed and water to be productive. Traditionally you'd find cows like the Texas Longhorn in the area, not Holsteins. Apparently land is cheap enough there that folks from California buy it up and use it for ag that would be much more at home in East Texas or Georgia than the desert. Meanwhile the Rio Grande dries up most years now and the native fish only survive due to captive breeding and constant reintroductions.
  - oofbey 4y ago
    > a single almond requires more water than a human. Also incorrect. Humans need to drink about 0.7 gallons PER DAY. To grow, an almond needs 1 gallon PER YEAR. (I'm guessing almond trees produce nuts once per year.) Point is they're different units, by a lot. Ignoring the reality of how modern humans live sanitary lives is quite silly. Without lots of clean water to wash things, people live miserable lives - this is a focus of much NGO work. A more reasonable analysis would conclude that a typical 1st world person's water consumption is equivalent to a hundred almonds per day. Per day.

oofbey 4y ago

Which is a completely pointless reference when discussing municipal water supplies.

NoahKAndrews 4y ago
The point being made is that a single almond requires more water than a human. Not that modern humans don't use much water in their day-to-day lives.
- dr_dshiv 4y ago
  Yeah, but then that isn’t factual either. The almond doesn’t need the water, the almond tree does (and we divide that by the number of almonds produced). Similarly, we would want to compare how much water a state uses, divided by the people. Both the almond and the person don’t take that much water, but as part of a larger necessary system, they do.
  - msrenee 4y ago
    The tree is obviously the thing being watered, but what I can find does say that it's about 1.1 gallons per single almond. So multiply that by the number of almonds on the tree and that's what each tree needs in a growing season. Farmtogether.com claims that number is about 30% too high, but here is the mission statement for the company: "Our Mission: To bring creative and transformative capital to farming while opening up a vital asset class to all investors.". Might be a little biased. Still leaves you at over 3/4 of a gallon per individual almond. Anyway, I don't know anything about almonds. I do remember seeing the pecan orchards in New Mexico flooded 2 feet deep in an area where most people didn't even attempt a lawn or any gardening that didn't involve cactus. And the dairies. Dairy cows take a lot of feed and water to be productive. Traditionally you'd find cows like the Texas Longhorn in the area, not Holsteins. Apparently land is cheap enough there that folks from California buy it up and use it for ag that would be much more at home in East Texas or Georgia than the desert. Meanwhile the Rio Grande dries up most years now and the native fish only survive due to captive breeding and constant reintroductions.
- oofbey 4y ago
  > a single almond requires more water than a human. Also incorrect. Humans need to drink about 0.7 gallons PER DAY. To grow, an almond needs 1 gallon PER YEAR. (I'm guessing almond trees produce nuts once per year.) Point is they're different units, by a lot. Ignoring the reality of how modern humans live sanitary lives is quite silly. Without lots of clean water to wash things, people live miserable lives - this is a focus of much NGO work. A more reasonable analysis would conclude that a typical 1st world person's water consumption is equivalent to a hundred almonds per day. Per day.