Thursday, July 2, 2015

CA Drought

“We’re not just talking about an individual losing business here. We’re talking about a community of people, the 80 families we support.” These 80 full-time employees work on a cherry farm in California's Central Valley, a cherry farm that is in deep trouble.

California's drought is now the worst they've ever seen. That cherry farm used to hire 400-800 pickers at harvest time, but last year could only hire 25. "No water, no fruit, no pickers," says the farmer. 

Some think that the state is returning to a desert climate like what it used to be. Underground aquifers are being drained and they will be gone for good if they are emptied. 

“Water is politics,” said David Feldman, a social ecology professor and chairman of the Department of Planning, Policy and Design at UC Irvine. . . the way it’s managed is determined by power."

The Valley produces one-third of America's vegetables and two-thirds of its nuts and fruits.

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