California Drought...scary!

A. DLeary wrote:

Seems they didn't conserve water when things were good and are paying for it now. You see the same crap with this idea that, "You can't...

Seems they didn't conserve water when things were good and are paying for it now.
You see the same crap with this idea that, "You can't take your money when you die so spend it all."
Problem is when you hit a drought and haven't saved water or money or whatever other resource it is you end up fucked.

rosebud441 wrote:

Buy property Jeffro,, there will be droves of climate refugees descending on the PNW looking for water, mild temps, and our WEED!!

no shit...

A. DLeary wrote:

Seems they didn't conserve water when things were good and are paying for it now. You see the same crap with this idea that, "You can't...

Seems they didn't conserve water when things were good and are paying for it now.
You see the same crap with this idea that, "You can't take your money when you die so spend it all."
Problem is when you hit a drought and haven't saved water or money or whatever other resource it is you end up fucked.

Xracerdone wrote:

It's not so much they didn't conserve, it's really more no one built any damns or reservoirs like the Corp of Engineers told them too but...

It's not so much they didn't conserve, it's really more no one built any damns or reservoirs like the Corp of Engineers told them too but the enviro nuts blocked everyone & that is why they have no water. One good thing is now the corp is going to move forward with damn & reservoir projects that have been in the planning stages for years no longer constrained by the whacky enviro nuts.

englishman wrote:

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and...

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and plans on planting more trees and upping output over the next several years )

1 Gallon of water is needed to produce 1 Almond.
1.85 billion lbs of Almonds produced in Ca per annum.
699 BILLION, 300 MILLION gallons of water used to produce above.
12.5 million homes per year could be provided with ALL their indoor water use from that figure.
14 million - just under - the amount of housing units in California.........

As a point of reference 1 million gallons of water is the length of a football field by 50 ft wide by 10 ft deep and CA needs just under 7000 million gallons to grow almonds each year.......

Titan1 wrote:

I love the PNW...my wife doesn't like the rain. But as the population in the Desert South West (DSW) continues to explode, and water continues to...

I love the PNW...my wife doesn't like the rain. But as the population in the Desert South West (DSW) continues to explode, and water continues to disappear...I prefer to live where the rain and snow actually fall...its easier to keep water than to take it from someone else.

There are big legal battles here over water already...Nevada, California, and to a lesser degree Arizona fighting for the water from the Colorado River and the watershed area. Utah, Colorado and Wyoming have been allowing the water to flow down stream...but imagine what will happen if we don't have enough water in those states? I think they will be MUCH more stingy at the expense of California, Nevada, and Arizona...could there really be full on war, between states, over water? Or people will flood to the places were the rain actually falls (PNW) and you'll be wise to buy up all the property you can.

TailSoHard wrote:

It's all those people that wasted water during that stupid ice bucket challenge thing from last year... idiots

englishman wrote:

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and...

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and plans on planting more trees and upping output over the next several years )

1 Gallon of water is needed to produce 1 Almond.
1.85 billion lbs of Almonds produced in Ca per annum.
699 BILLION, 300 MILLION gallons of water used to produce above.
12.5 million homes per year could be provided with ALL their indoor water use from that figure.
14 million - just under - the amount of housing units in California.........

As a point of reference 1 million gallons of water is the length of a football field by 50 ft wide by 10 ft deep and CA needs just under 7000 million gallons to grow almonds each year.......

Titan1 wrote:

Good grief! If those numbers are true...I'm pretty sure the world will survive on 80% less almonds. (I can't even remember the last time I ate...

Good grief! If those numbers are true...I'm pretty sure the world will survive on 80% less almonds. (I can't even remember the last time I ate one? Maybe in an Almond Snickers candy bar or something).

Other than the jobs the Almond industry provides, I see no reason to use that much water growing something that the world can certainly live without, during drought seasons.

A quick google search turned up this link (maybe we don't need Broccoli (5 gallons of water for one head of Broccoli), Walnuts (4 gallons of water for one walnut), Lettuce (3 gallons of water/head of lettuce) or tomatoes (3 gallons of water/tomato) either.

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/wheres-californias-water…

vet323 wrote:

You guys realize that we haven't lost any water, right? All those gallons used to grow almonds, lettuce and the rest don't just disappear. There have...

You guys realize that we haven't lost any water, right? All those gallons used to grow almonds, lettuce and the rest don't just disappear. There have been droughts in the SW before and there will be again. It is correct, though that the massive amount of agriculture in that state is unsustainable without a better water management system.

englishman wrote:

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and...

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and plans on planting more trees and upping output over the next several years )

1 Gallon of water is needed to produce 1 Almond.
1.85 billion lbs of Almonds produced in Ca per annum.
699 BILLION, 300 MILLION gallons of water used to produce above.
12.5 million homes per year could be provided with ALL their indoor water use from that figure.
14 million - just under - the amount of housing units in California.........

As a point of reference 1 million gallons of water is the length of a football field by 50 ft wide by 10 ft deep and CA needs just under 7000 million gallons to grow almonds each year.......

71Fish wrote:

And without bees, you wouldn't have almonds, or 1/3 or the food we eat.

vet323 wrote:

You guys realize that we haven't lost any water, right? All those gallons used to grow almonds, lettuce and the rest don't just disappear. There have...

You guys realize that we haven't lost any water, right? All those gallons used to grow almonds, lettuce and the rest don't just disappear. There have been droughts in the SW before and there will be again. It is correct, though that the massive amount of agriculture in that state is unsustainable without a better water management system.

jeffro503 wrote:

There is a difference between " water " and " Usable water " that humans and farmers need. 3/4 of the planets water is in the...

There is a difference between " water " and " Usable water " that humans and farmers need. 3/4 of the planets water is in the oceans and not one drop if it is drinkable for Humans unless treated. That's where the shortage's come from. We can't treat enough water for the human population on this planet. We either need to build more water treatment facilities or just cut back on growing the population. It really is that black and white.

englishman wrote:

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and...

Lot of talk in California right now about the drought, here's some interesting facts about almond farming (CA produces 80 % of the worlds almonds and plans on planting more trees and upping output over the next several years )

1 Gallon of water is needed to produce 1 Almond.
1.85 billion lbs of Almonds produced in Ca per annum.
699 BILLION, 300 MILLION gallons of water used to produce above.
12.5 million homes per year could be provided with ALL their indoor water use from that figure.
14 million - just under - the amount of housing units in California.........

As a point of reference 1 million gallons of water is the length of a football field by 50 ft wide by 10 ft deep and CA needs just under 7000 million gallons to grow almonds each year.......

71Fish wrote:

And without bees, you wouldn't have almonds, or 1/3 or the food we eat.

lestat wrote:

the bees are dieing too . 70 percent in the last three years .

motogeezer wrote:

The almond thing pisses me off. I've been through what used to be called "America's Salad Bowl" many, many, many times over the years and used...

The almond thing pisses me off.

I've been through what used to be called "America's Salad Bowl" many, many, many times over the years and used to see all kinds of produce growing.

Beans, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, onions, cabbage, etc., with some cotton thrown in here and there...

Last time I was up that way, it was damned nearly all almond trees and alfalfa for the dairy cows.

Two of the most water consumptive crops you can grow.

Is it a surprise that our two highest profit CA products are almonds and milk?

Pretty much the only other thing growing up there is grapes.

Guess what our third highest profit product is?

Yep, wine.

Fuck growing food. Let's make some money!