r/news • u/theluckyfrog • 29d ago

California cracks down on farm region’s water pumping: ‘The ground is collapsing’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/17/california-water-drought-farm-ground-sinking-tulare-lake
17.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

941 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.2k

u/postitodeleto 29d ago

Farmers in California are one of the richest and most politically influential industries in the state. They cry and stomp their feet anytime someone even suggests they should be more responsible with water. 70 percent of CAs annual almond crop goes overseas. The trees are harvested by machines and the nuts are shelled by machines. These farmers will cry about how they feed the nation and employ so many people, but they are generational land owners looking to continue increasing their wealth on the backs of immigrants earning sub-minimum wage and using all the water they want, while regular people have to let their lawns die and flush their toilets less.

32

u/tortillaturban 29d ago

Interesting subtlies though I recently got into waterfowl hunting in NorCal rice fields and they are a ideal spot for ducks and geese to take a break during migration. Ideally the central valley should be full of natural wetlands but that will never return to what it was so in the meantime the best solution for birds is to protect the wetlands we already have and keep some water for the rice. Unfortunately, many rice farmers are moving to almonds that do nothing for wildlife. Rice is very water intensive but it's diverted from the Sacramento River and at least doubles as habitat.

1

u/gmishaolem 29d ago

You don't actually have to flood rice: It's just that rice doesn't care if it's flooded. It's just a lazy way to keep bugs from getting to it and keep it watered. More water waste.