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.
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 😅😂
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.
This was absolutely fascinating. Have you worked in policy by any chance? Your attention to detail about a specific area of policy is very impressive.
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
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.