Calirofrnia has about 1 years worth of water left

[Fake Boris]

Please explain how to easily convince the entire western world to significantly change their consumption habits. There may possibly be a Nobel prize in it for you if you can.

Use productivity gains to decrease the work week rather than increase consumption.

[Lonestar]

Other states do well on one or two subsidized crops, wheat, corn, cotton, but California mostly produces crops which aren't subsidized because those crops have little competition else where. It still produces lots of rice, corn, wheat, cotton, etc... but, in general, speciality crops command higher prices and most of those can't be grown just any where so farmers gravitate to them despite the fact that the national farm bill doesn't subsidize them.

Compare that to Iowa or Kansas where everything is just two crops.

Except, you know, the huge subsidies created by the massive BOR and Army Corps of Engineers water projects in CA.

[Dinner]

Ok, yes, the irrigation systems set up 100 years ago are a subsidy of sorts especially since water prices are below cost.

If you want to get technical crop insurance is also a subsidy as it is also sold way below cost and the difference is paid for by Congress.

I was originally talking about direct cash subsidies such as what a corn former gets. The type of subsidies found in the national farm bill.

[Dinner]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/california/2341694-water-we-got-ours-so-too.html

There are a lot of people pissed off that the state is ordering them to cut their usage 25% and their water rates are going up even while big ag continues to use inefficient and wasteful flood irrigation. The fellow in that thread snapped a picture this morning where their is a sign saying no water yet the farmer had his entire field flooded. Big ag doesn't want to pay for sprinkler systems which get the same job done fmusing 75% less water. I say we force them because that is where 80% of the water usage is going. Outlaw flood irrigation except in very limited and we'll defined circumstances and water water usage drop by half state wide.

[Dinner]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/30/how-growers-gamed-california-s-drought.html

How big ag is gaming California. I generally think Gov. Brown has done an excellent job as governor but he has been a coward by avoiding taking on big ag. Clearly, he thinks they have too much clout to take on politically but our water policies are clearly broken and need fixing. Australia has shown how this can be done while still keeping agricultural output high, water in the rivers and wetlands for wild life, and city taps working. It can be done but it requires a new legal framework which forces big consumers to be water wise instead of our current system which punishes conservation.

[regexcellent]

If California didn't produce those crops we'd import them. Life would go on if the prices went up slightly.

Just auction the damn water to whomever and set the quota low enough that the riverbed doesn't become (too) toxic sludge.