Post AbdTurpxG1Tysu1bTk by heaths@fosstodon.org
(DIR) More posts by heaths@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #AbdBHpGR5iTQR6e3sW by ken@toots.schwanksta.com
2023-11-09T13:10:41Z
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With flows from the vital Colorado River in peril, @ProPublica and the Desert Sun found that just 20 extended families in a stretch of California desert used more river water than entire states -- and they mostly used it to grow hay.Farmers in one family, the Abattis, used more water than the entirety of the Las Vegas metro area.Read our excellent, interactive analysis: https://projects.propublica.org/california-farmers-colorado-river/
(DIR) Post #AbdTi7W7eEDLkcfbt2 by failedLyndonLaRouchite@mas.to
2023-11-09T16:37:06Z
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@ken @ProPublica but we all, the people, use the products of these farmers ???
(DIR) Post #AbdTiZeF3dLWzugUQi by ptg@mstdn.ca
2023-11-09T16:37:11Z
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@ken @ProPublica Would be cheaper to buy out those families. Even at a few hundred million each.
(DIR) Post #AbdTurpxG1Tysu1bTk by heaths@fosstodon.org
2023-11-09T16:39:24Z
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@ken @ProPublica '“If water costs too much, then we won’t be able to do it anymore,” said Strahm'
(DIR) Post #AbdWcyLWcLJ1iqwyci by dacig@mastodon.social
2023-11-09T17:09:45Z
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@ken @ProPublica Meanwhile in Mexico, we have a mostly dead river Delta that could use some of that water, sediments.
(DIR) Post #AbdZYcwoXCoi3n0mIq by dragonfrog@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-11-09T17:42:36Z
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@ken @ProPublica Those families aren't really "using" that water though, are they? The many humans who eat the meat of the animals that eat the hay are using the water.Like, obviously the economic incentives are all wrong if those families can continue to run businesses growing animal fodder in aan arid desert.But it's the same as this "forget personal responsibility, 20 corporations are responsible for 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions" business...
(DIR) Post #AbdZoJUmcnXCMcNdCK by sarahbi@mastodon.world
2023-11-09T17:45:28Z
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@ken @ProPublica Yes, we can all do our part by growing our own food and relying less on supermarkets or turn to more urban farming. But it’s absolutely confounding that farmers grow alfalfa in a desert where it makes 0 sense to do so. There are many other places in the US to grow alfalfa. It’s ironic that white colonizers feel entitled to land and water that they’ve stolen.
(DIR) Post #AbdemmAVY23YU0yzJI by dragonfrog@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-11-09T17:45:15Z
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@ken @ProPublica ... when every one of those 20 is a petroleum company. They aren't just emitting CO2 for fun, they're doing it because that's how they obtain fossil fuels to sell to individuals, to shipping companies that transport the goods bought by individuals, to landlords that heat the buildings occupied by individuals. They're emitting *on our behalf*, and they or their corporate successors will continue to do so until we manage to replace their products in our lives.
(DIR) Post #AbdemqLzzFcnSoODmC by ken@toots.schwanksta.com
2023-11-09T18:41:13Z
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@dragonfrog @ProPublica I'm not sure if you read the story, but it's worthwhile! They have legal priority and extremely cheap access to Colorado River water. As the river continues to shrink, it's worth accounting for how it's used, and who uses it. As to whether they "use" the water -- they purchase it from the district at prices and volumes not available to most people, and decide how it's used.
(DIR) Post #AbdfnnbBobs1AAVxpI by dragonfrog@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-11-09T18:52:34Z
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@ken @ProPublica I get that part, and I agree the 'sweetheart' pricing should be ended.The way I see it is just that, we have financial incentives controlled by the state at the "headwaters", a production chain of basically interchangeable businesses in the middle, and at the "delta" consumers at the end who decide what to buy based largely on price - which is determined way upstream by the state's financial incentives.