3 ms·

Last time I checked you can't irrigate with salt water and the process of desalination is expensive at scale. I don't know how much fresh water their climate ha

• Jensson 2y ago
  Japan has about 10x the amount of freshwater as California, California is a desert with very little freshwater, most places has way more, even islands like Japan.
  • packetlost 2y ago
    That doesn't really negate my point, but it does mean it's less relevant to the discussion. Northern California is not really a desert though, which is where the majority of the agriculture is, no?
    • lizknope 2y ago
      There is a huge amount of agriculture in the California desert in the south around the Salton Sea. The "sea" itself was created by accident when the Colorado River irrigation channel broke and the river was diverted into the Salton Sink over 100 years ago. It has shrank in size but agricultural runoff keeps it from completely drying. It is also full of pesticide and fertilizer residue. Take a look at the google satellite view https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nc1Pno74iYmQBERKA https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nc1Pno74iYmQBERKA The Central Valley extends north to Sacramento and there are crops grown through the entire area but the far south is so warm even in winter that they can grow crops year round. A large amount of vegetables that people in the US eat in winter come from this area.
• Dalewyn 2y ago
  A running joke in Japan, as a country with practically no natural resources (read: oil, minerals, precious metals), is that the one natural resource they do have tons of is fresh water. Consider that the Japanese find water so mundane they think nothing of using it disposably to make instant yakisoba (chow mein).