Here is a good article on the water problem in California. I have used the almond as an example. However, we grow rice, alfalfa, walnuts, and many other nuts and vegetables, all needing immense amounts of water. No – we can’t stop agriculture, of course not. But water should be traded like any commodity on the free market. If water were more expensive, we would not grow rice in California so we can ship it to Asia. That makes no sense.
Astro turf the golf courses. Then let us play 18 holes and enjoy our almonds.
Thanks for this suggestion. But the math simply does not support this. Northern California golf courses use about 140,000 gallons a day, about as much as a family of 4 in year. Golf courses use less than 1% of the fresh water in California, while homes, businesses and industry use roughly 20%, and agriculture 80%. So eliminating all golf courses, while it looks high profile, would net get near the results of the 25% cut for home and business use.