California is a land of contradictions. Verdant orchards and vast deserts coexist, reflecting both the abundance and the desolation that defines our state. California now stands at a crossroads as we confront climate change, a threat that is poised to turn our prosperous lands barren.
Beautifully written essay. I'm glad you also note the anti-humanism which has taken hold of modern environmentalism. Not all environmentalism is anti-humanistic, but there is an undeniable thread of anti-humanism which has taken hold of the movement since the 1980s, likely drawing from the Postmodern ethos of reversing hierarchies—extending to the hierarchy between human and non-human—as in Derrida and Foucault.
Beautifully done. I went to college in California and lived 16 years there. Critical years, years of growth and learning. But in the end, the culture let me know I was still an outsider and I couldn’t afford a house. I miss it there, but not enough to return. Texas is building a better economy in every way, and the culture here is far more welcoming
I was slightly influenced by her in this piece, although I wrote it 1.5 years ago! I think my ideas on this topic are only now coming to a state of maturity
I've really enjoyed your posts. I know this is an aside but I've read that the robust wine industry in Calif. has led to increased ground water access/usage. However compared to other crops vineyards might not require as much water. Given that wine is a luxury crop and not a commodity how much does the profit motive drive to the misuse or over allocation of water resources? And are these resources being pulled from other crops?
It's sort of the same thing with Almonds right? Although i think substantial amount gets exported to China correct? I'd have to think the weight of corporate power looms large and maybe they monopolize water rights and resources that may otherwise be dedicated for urban use. Is that fair to say or is that off base?
Thank you for the kind words!! I always appreciate reading your comments.
Almonds and vineyards often come up in discourse on CA water but the reality is often more complex than the discourse reveals. Vineyards actually use significantly less water than many other crops, and they’re often planted in areas with limited irrigation anyways.
Almonds are definitely more water intensive but still not the most water intensive crop - for example, alfalfa requires significantly more water but receives a lot less criticism. A lot of almonds do go china, but CA also feeds the world (I think something like $24 billion is generated annually in food exports). I don’t think farmers should be demonized for this, it’s of strategic value that the California state serves as the bread (or veggie and fruit) basket of the world. It’s also useful for supporting population growth in our own country to have food abundance - the reverse situation is significantly more bleak.
Corporate interests don’t actually monopolize water rights in the way most people would assume. The water rights system was built prior to large agricultural industries developing. Corporations can inherit the right through buying the land the rights holder owns, but they don’t seize control through lobbying or anything. They do have significant influence, but more so through lobbying for favorable regulations, groundwater access and storage project construction. (Good things, in my opinion).
Ultimately, I don’t think it’s an issue with overuse, but rather the state’s water infrastructure system is extremely outdated. An example I can point to is that there’s a county in a critical agricultural region that was losing 300,000 acre feet of water (97.7 billion gallons) per year - and they were in a deficit smaller than that. Thankfully the state is willing to support projects for infrastructure maintence, but anything that would significantly expand supply tends to be shot down.
Instead of blaming farmers, I advocate for asking the question of why we’re not investing in better water storage and innovations like desalination
interesting. yeah i've heard stuff about desalination. Sometimes i wonder if only the right proverbial levers are pulled and right people are in place these ideas might come to fruition. Kind of like the zero emission's bullet train.
Have you read Mark Arax’s The Dreamt Land? Gives some good perspective on the effects of groundwater pumping and subsidence. The crops themselves are not the problem so much as where they’ve been planted and what water is going to them. For example, Stewart Resnick of Wonderful Co. has sold off his aqueduct allotments to Southern California cities and made millions doing so, but also pumps massive amounts of water out of the ground which has drained the aquifer. He also plants his almonds and pistachios in parts of Kern County with soil that is really only compatible with grazing. The aqueduct was developed to prevent over pumping, but no rules were ever established with regard to water sales. This forces smaller family farms to either have to sell to Resnick, lease to him or compromise their own ethics regarding groundwater pumping and crop planting in order to keep up. It’s interesting too that some of the biggest farming companies in the state like Resnick or The Lyons are also Democratic Party donors and defended Newsome in the recall.
I’m glad you are bringing up Powell’s name. He was very cool. Intrepid and heroic.
Thank you! No im just curious, nearly to a neurotic degree. I also just like law as a social technology, I think it’s a fun way to analyze history and culture - as well as guide it.
If you look at my post on hair care to nuclear scare, I discuss how I ended up doing the work I’m doing now. Spoiler: it started because Los Angeles’ hard water was damaging my hair 😅😂
Beautifully written essay. I'm glad you also note the anti-humanism which has taken hold of modern environmentalism. Not all environmentalism is anti-humanistic, but there is an undeniable thread of anti-humanism which has taken hold of the movement since the 1980s, likely drawing from the Postmodern ethos of reversing hierarchies—extending to the hierarchy between human and non-human—as in Derrida and Foucault.
Thank you! And yes, I totally agree. At some point I had a section on postmodernism for this essay and deleted it
Beautifully done. I went to college in California and lived 16 years there. Critical years, years of growth and learning. But in the end, the culture let me know I was still an outsider and I couldn’t afford a house. I miss it there, but not enough to return. Texas is building a better economy in every way, and the culture here is far more welcoming
I love me some Camille Paglia in the afternoon.
I was slightly influenced by her in this piece, although I wrote it 1.5 years ago! I think my ideas on this topic are only now coming to a state of maturity
I've really enjoyed your posts. I know this is an aside but I've read that the robust wine industry in Calif. has led to increased ground water access/usage. However compared to other crops vineyards might not require as much water. Given that wine is a luxury crop and not a commodity how much does the profit motive drive to the misuse or over allocation of water resources? And are these resources being pulled from other crops?
It's sort of the same thing with Almonds right? Although i think substantial amount gets exported to China correct? I'd have to think the weight of corporate power looms large and maybe they monopolize water rights and resources that may otherwise be dedicated for urban use. Is that fair to say or is that off base?
Thank you for the kind words!! I always appreciate reading your comments.
Almonds and vineyards often come up in discourse on CA water but the reality is often more complex than the discourse reveals. Vineyards actually use significantly less water than many other crops, and they’re often planted in areas with limited irrigation anyways.
Almonds are definitely more water intensive but still not the most water intensive crop - for example, alfalfa requires significantly more water but receives a lot less criticism. A lot of almonds do go china, but CA also feeds the world (I think something like $24 billion is generated annually in food exports). I don’t think farmers should be demonized for this, it’s of strategic value that the California state serves as the bread (or veggie and fruit) basket of the world. It’s also useful for supporting population growth in our own country to have food abundance - the reverse situation is significantly more bleak.
Corporate interests don’t actually monopolize water rights in the way most people would assume. The water rights system was built prior to large agricultural industries developing. Corporations can inherit the right through buying the land the rights holder owns, but they don’t seize control through lobbying or anything. They do have significant influence, but more so through lobbying for favorable regulations, groundwater access and storage project construction. (Good things, in my opinion).
Ultimately, I don’t think it’s an issue with overuse, but rather the state’s water infrastructure system is extremely outdated. An example I can point to is that there’s a county in a critical agricultural region that was losing 300,000 acre feet of water (97.7 billion gallons) per year - and they were in a deficit smaller than that. Thankfully the state is willing to support projects for infrastructure maintence, but anything that would significantly expand supply tends to be shot down.
Instead of blaming farmers, I advocate for asking the question of why we’re not investing in better water storage and innovations like desalination
interesting. yeah i've heard stuff about desalination. Sometimes i wonder if only the right proverbial levers are pulled and right people are in place these ideas might come to fruition. Kind of like the zero emission's bullet train.
Have you read Mark Arax’s The Dreamt Land? Gives some good perspective on the effects of groundwater pumping and subsidence. The crops themselves are not the problem so much as where they’ve been planted and what water is going to them. For example, Stewart Resnick of Wonderful Co. has sold off his aqueduct allotments to Southern California cities and made millions doing so, but also pumps massive amounts of water out of the ground which has drained the aquifer. He also plants his almonds and pistachios in parts of Kern County with soil that is really only compatible with grazing. The aqueduct was developed to prevent over pumping, but no rules were ever established with regard to water sales. This forces smaller family farms to either have to sell to Resnick, lease to him or compromise their own ethics regarding groundwater pumping and crop planting in order to keep up. It’s interesting too that some of the biggest farming companies in the state like Resnick or The Lyons are also Democratic Party donors and defended Newsome in the recall.
I’m glad you are bringing up Powell’s name. He was very cool. Intrepid and heroic.
Climate change suggests that there’s going to be some tough choices ahead in the West, there are tradeoffs everywhere.
Thank you! No im just curious, nearly to a neurotic degree. I also just like law as a social technology, I think it’s a fun way to analyze history and culture - as well as guide it.
If you look at my post on hair care to nuclear scare, I discuss how I ended up doing the work I’m doing now. Spoiler: it started because Los Angeles’ hard water was damaging my hair 😅😂
https://lauralondon.substack.com/p/from-hair-care-to-nuclear-scare