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A comment on California Announces Restrictions on Water Use by Farmers. Parent comment

Re:California Announces Restrictions on Water Use by Farmers by yellowapple on Friday June 12, 2015 @08:55PM (#9709428)
The "and stop using so much" part is misplaced if you're really looking to the agricultural industry, of all things, to do that stopping. We need food and drinking water. We don't need green lawns and golf courses.

Not to say that water efficiency improvements in the agricultural space wouldn't be welcome, but rather that landscaping is arguably less important than even the relatively-unimportant foods, let alone the important ones.

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Re:California Announces Restrictions on Water Use by Farmers by eropple on Friday June 12, 2015 @10:15PM (#9709605)
Landscaping should be the first to go, but it's also a relatively minor part of the problem. Agriculture is the primary cause of water depletion--not just use, but depletion.

If the tradeoff is unsustainable and as-we-currently-know-it-irreparable biosphere destruction and more expensive almonds and beef (through higher alfalfa prices), I'm really okay with that trade-off and I think if you dig into the situation you probably will be too. People aren't gonna starve because dead cow costs more--because beef is already nearing "too expensive" for Americans in situations of food insecurity as is.

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