Eye-opening short documentary on the drought situation in California. Stock up on almonds, folks!

T

traca

Well-known member
The almond industry brings in over a billion dollars annually, and 70% of that crop depends on surface water. There is none.

50,000 acres of citrus trees are out of production too. Most are dead.

“Since 2012, California has been suffering through a historically severe drought. For the farmers of the Central Valley, which is 'the country’s fruit basket, salad bowl, and dairy case,' the future seems especially bleak. Wells have gone dry, orchards have been left to perish, and those who came to California to work the fields stand idle.”

http://thephotosociety.org/blog/california-paradise-burning/

 
It's hard for me b/c I think many don't seem to know how dire this drought is...

Most of the homes on many streets, mine included have bright green lawns. Mine is nearly dead...almost dead, but I try to give it some water every so often so it doesn't die completely as re-landscaping is so expensive. Our county is asking for a 20% water reduction, so far we only hit 11%.

I didn't realize farmers were pulling their trees now. I'd heard that was the last line of defense they were trying to save the water for because it would take years to replant/be ready to harvest.

They said today we are officially one full year behind in water/rainfall. An avg rainfall in SF is 20 inches, so they'd need 40 to catch-up. At one point weather models said this might be an El Nino big water year, but that's no longer being reported, at best they are hoping for an average rainfall.

Yesterday, Stanford University released a report tying our drought to climate change.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132709

 
I t depends on where you live as to how severe your situation is....

in our area, we have a lot of different water districts (within the city) who buy water from the City of Redding or other water districts. Where I live up on a plateau that extends from Mt. Shasta to the little town of Anderson, we sit on a huge aquafir , plus the City of Redding has water contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation from grandfather days. So we are pretty good...HOWEVER we all know that we have to respect our water, and we have been asked to cut back by 20 percent. We can only water three days a week and only at night and on certain days depending on our address. We do all sorts of stuff to conserve, the biggie being catching shower water which is heating up. It goes into a bucket, which we put into a bigger bucket. We catch our water in the bathroom sinks, kitchen sink and reuse it. There is so much you can do to help out. We are not washing our cars, but dusting them every few days with a special brush, and it works great We wash the windows at the gas station.
Many neighborhoods in the area are requested to cut back by 50 per cent....they are loosing their yards. It just all depends on your area and the water supply you pull from. I can tell you that lake Shasta looks like a river and not a lake.

 
I just heard about this product this weekend. A friend has tried it and

loved it. Amazon carries it, Prolong car wash. No water needed. I'm ordering some.
Brings back memories of the 70's. If it's yellow, it's mellow. If it's brown flush it down.

 
I think the whole agri-business model is undergoing a reality check. We flood irrigate...

...fields of produce here in AZ. Of the water released to flood all these acres of land, 80% of it (or more) evaporates before the crop can absorb it. That's 80% WASTED WATER.

There's much, much more, but the farming model we use is really atrocious. The alternatives will cost more, but at least we will still have water!

Michael

 
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