I wonder if anyone appreciates how serious, how close and how inevitable this is. Are the answers really: "extremely", "24 months" and "totally"?
Originally shared by Bill SmithCalifornia is in the grip of a record drought tied to climate change. This water crisis holds the potential to collapse California’s economy if the state truly runs out of water. What an irony that the state most focused on global warming may be its first victim.
California anchors U.S. economy. It has the seventh largest economy in the world, approximately twice the size of Texas. California’s economy is so large and impacts so many other businesses that its potential collapse due to a water crisis will impact the pocketbooks of most Americans.
#California #DroughtClimate Change Puts California Economy at Risk of Collapse
Here's a hint for Californians. Forcing restaurants to ask customers if they want iced water before putting it on the table isn't going to be enough.
Indeed its a big deal because these crops are a significant part of the economy, indeed, and there is no way to replace the revenue per acre they provide. But the reality is its unsustainable, unless of course the farmers start desalinating their water in which case their profits make it prohibitive (possible but financially unlikely).
But the main point is there is near zero risk to culinary water (i.e. cities and so on) so to clarify that is not the issue. Its purely the extraordinary amount of water being used in agriculture - well (much, much) more than half the water used by the state. Eliminate/reduce that and problem is solved.
We need serious investment in sustainable agriculture (hydroponics, urban farming, etc.) and stop growing water rich plants in the desert.
Um. Not trying to be cute, but: "citation needed". How low do the reservoirs like Lake Mead have to get before the consumer taps start running dry in places like Palm Springs?
Of course it's not just California but the whole SW states region.
http://www.ppic.org/main/publication_show.asp?i=1108
Point simply being is people won't die of dehydration... or even be able to cook or shower.
It feels to me like at least to start with this is a political problem balancing vested interests. Agriculture is huge and concentrated in relatively few players that are already being squeezed on prices and profits. Conversely, urban interests are rich and varied probably with more collective political power. And because agricultural use dominates the water usage to such an extent but represents such a small proportion of GDP, dramatic reductions essentially solve the problem for everyone else. So agribusiness gets squeezed and encouraged to die and leave.
And to some extent this can be made to happen simply by market pricing. Double, quadruple (or whatever) the cost of water and the farmers will simply give up. Assuming somebody somewhere can impose that policy on the water companies.
People seem relieved that cities have a full year of drinking water in reserve. I don't know about them but I'm planning to drink, cook, wash, and shower next year, too, and there is no way I'm assuming that a drought trend lasting years already is going to magically end at the buzzer.
Still, Nestle pays residential rates to buy city water it can then sell for profit in Sacramento and other cities, worldwide demand will invite California agriculture to keep pumping until the aquifers are dry, and the rest of us will crane our necks and wonder if we can afford fresh produce next summer.