Homestead mailing list

["Don Bowen" <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

> Rob brought this to my attention. Consider that California produces
> about twenty-five percent of the country's food. Then consider farmers
> having to sharply cut back the number of acres planted.

It is said that 80% of the water used in California is for agriculture.  The
number one agricultural country in the US is Fresno County.  I heard
recently that in 1950 90% of New York's fresh produce came from New Jersey,
now 90% comes from California.

California's growth has placed farmers and developers in conflict.  This
conflict is eased somewhat when farmers were allowed to sell water at huge
profits to developers but it is still there.  Developers want to make
suburban lawns that look like back east.  They also want huge golf courses
to lure spenders, golf courses that use more water and chemicals per square
foot than any farm.  Only home owners use more.

Southern California is a desert with less than 10 inches of rainfall average
per year.  If every drop of rain that fell on San Diego County were captured
it would provide less than 5% of the county's need.  One casino tribe is
building a huge golf course and the wells are drying up important water
sources near and have lead to several houses burning because there was no
water.  Another tribe is pumping ground water and the ground is subsiding
causing houses to crack.  The tribe claims no responsibility as a sovereign
nation.  

Don Bowen  KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html