California is experiencing a severe drought, so severe that Governor Jerry Brown recently mandated 25% cuts in water use for individuals and businesses throughout the state. Those cuts did not include agricultural users. Many people are upset that farmers are escaping the restrictions, and they have turned their ire on a specific crop: almonds. It turns out that almonds are a very thirsty crop, with a single nut requiring a gallon of water to produce.Mother Jonesled the charge against almonds in July 2014 when they published an article snarkily titled “Lay Off the Almond Milk, You Ignorant Hipsters.” This article was my first introduction to the economics of almonds, and I immediately agreed that almonds are a wasteful crop to produce during times of such drastic drought – though I have to admit I didn’t stop eating them (I have never had almond milk and I’m not eager to try it regardless of the drought). Now, with the new water restrictions, almonds are the target of people who believe that a crop that uses up to 10% of California’s agricultural water should give way to more drought-tolerant, sustainable crops. Yet, it turns out that there is more nuance to the business of almonds than just their thirstiness and value to the state economy. Today’s two Daily Reads address both sides of the almond debate. One article, from CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture), highlights the value of almonds and points out that they can be sustainably managed by small farmers. The second is an article from Mother Jones responding to several arguments that almonds really aren’t that bad. I invite you to read both, as well as the other articles I linked to, and draw your own conclusions; but as for me, I still think there are better ways to use our agricultural water than to grow a water-intensive crop that is mostly destined for overseas markets.
Tag: water
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Daily Reads: Got Water?
Here’s a great idea from some folks in Oregon: use the treated wastewater produced from sewage to brew beer. Writing on the NPR blog The Salt, Cassandra Profita discusses the process by which clean, drinkable water can be produced from sewage sludge. Although Oregon does not approve this water for consumption, a new experiment is allowing small craft brewers to use this water in their beer. This is a terrific idea. People get grossed out by the idea that the water came from sewage, but as I have written about before, this is a mental and cultural block. There is no reason to fear drinking water that has been reclaimed from waste; consider the fact that most of our municipal water sits in reservoirs filled with fish and plant matter, as well as trash, fuel and oil residue from boats, and other unsavory flotsam and jetsam. That water goes through the same treatment process as wastewater. So why not use it? Drought conditions and continued water scarcity means we need to look at every option, and as far as I can tell there is no downside here.
Why Dump Treated Wastewater When You Could Make Beer With It?
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Daily Reads: A Glass of Poop
Linda Poon of NPR uses the word poop in her headline, so I guess I can too! This article about Bill Gates drinking a glass of water derived from sewage sludge makes me very happy. This process has derisively – and misleadingly – been called “toilet to tap” (a technology I mentioned in this post), and as such it has scared people away from an extremely effective way of recycling precious water. This appears to be a different technology from the classic method of collecting and treating water from sewage, but the results are the same. This is the sort of innovation the world needs. People just need to put on their critical thinking caps and realize that the initial source, while gross to think about, is irrelevant to the ultimate product: clean, drinkable water.