2 ms·
desalination probably isn't cost effective enough to grow almonds
by convolvatron 4y ago
desalination probably isn't cost effective enough to grow almonds
- jboy55 4y agoI think you state the point perfectly. Desalination presumes that the "need" is for drinking water. 80% of the water that humans use in California is for agriculture, only 20% is urban use.
- sbaiddn 4y agoDrink it or eat it, it still goes down the pie hole!
- kurthr 4y agoYep, agriculture still 80% of water usage, because it's free. Same up river from California on the Colorado (Utah, New Mexico, Arizona) as well so it's not like changing industrial or residential consumption by even 50% makes a dent. Limiting or taxing export of water intensive agriculture (alfalfa, rice) would though!
- blululu 4y agoOr just cutting the government subsidies on beef and cotton production on lands that use discounted reclamation water.
- ryeights 4y agoBut what will the Saudi princes do without their steady supply of US-subsidized alfalfa?
- emodendroket 4y agoIt’s easy to pick on the handful of obviously profligate uses of water but California’s wildly productive farmland does produce a lot of important crops and just saying “no agriculture here anymore” isn’t much of a solution unless we don’t intend to keep eating.