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Arizona and California have outdated water management laws that basically mean that big agriculture gets free water. Until recently Saudi Arabia was using thes
by awongh 2y ago
Arizona and California have outdated water management laws that basically mean that big agriculture gets free water.
Until recently Saudi Arabia was using these laws to grow alfalfa in the desert.
In California, water intensive crops like almond trees get free water.
https://youtu.be/XusyNT_k-1c https://youtu.be/XusyNT_k-1c
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/climate/arizona-saudi-arabia-alfalfa-groundwater.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/climate/arizona-saudi-ara...
- mikhailfranco 2y agoAlso see the Resnicks' water storage scheme for their almond/pistachio empire: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/08/lynda-stewart-resnick-california-water/ https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/08/lynda-stewar... The report has a graph showing their farms consume more water then all LA homes. "Forget it Jake. It's Chinatown."
- amanaplanacanal 2y agoYes, but... The way the law works is that the farms own that water. The state would likely have to use eminent domain and pay fair market value if they want to take it away. I have no idea what that would cost.
- awongh 2y agoI mean, yes, use eminent domain to take the water… and then get TSMC to pay for it. Maybe another big player in the system would even help build momentum to get these laws changed permanently…