Warm temperatures and rich soil make it no coincidence that California produces the most amount of food within all of the American states. With vast quantities of agriculture, comes the necessity for a great abundance of water. Agriculture uses close to 80% of the entire water supply in California (NDRC, 2014). As California continues to extract more and more groundwater as well as export water-demanding crops, the issue is only getting further from a resolution. The current appalling drought in California has been ongoing since 2011 and has proven to be one of, if not the most severe drought in the past 100 years. The drought officially became a state of emergency in 2014.
There is no definitive event which caused the drought, however it is …show more content…
Desalination plants take seawater and turn it into freshwater. Many countries are hesitant to use desalination plants because they are extremely costly, but California has previously opened one and they know what needs to be done. Renewable energy might be more expensive than current non-renewable energy sources, but prices are decreasing. Photovoltaic is a technology which could be used to power the desalination plants and in 1970 it was priced at $70/w and is now below $2/w (CGIAR, 2013). The government of California will primarily subsidize the plants, however the U.S and Canada government should loan towards the investment as well. The U.S and Canada should help invest because If the solution is not employed and water availability continues to decrease, the food prices will increase for both U.S and Canada which can cause even larger problems. Since California is on the shore, the plants can take in and let out seawater with ease. With sea levels increasing, there is more than enough seawater currently, but a lack of freshwater. If enough water is provided to farms in California, the economic, social, environmental and political impacts which mentioned previously will diminish. Groundwater digging must come to a halt, before the impacts worsen, and a new source of water is necessary. Countries such as Saudi Arabia have begun investing in renewable energy desalination plants, and these plants …show more content…
It takes the desalination plants two gallons of seawater to make one gallon of freshwater. The issue with this is that when the seawater is poured back out, it now has a much larger quantity of salt. Some marine wildlife and animals will not react well with more salt, which could also be contaminated, and the organisms can be put in danger because of this. Moreover, the plants can engulf parts of the ecosystem in the process, which is another environmental weakness. The final issue with desalination is that If enough precipitation comes to California, there is no reason for the government to pay money to keep the plant running, so they often close down and are considered a misspend of important
There is no definitive event which caused the drought, however it is …show more content…
Desalination plants take seawater and turn it into freshwater. Many countries are hesitant to use desalination plants because they are extremely costly, but California has previously opened one and they know what needs to be done. Renewable energy might be more expensive than current non-renewable energy sources, but prices are decreasing. Photovoltaic is a technology which could be used to power the desalination plants and in 1970 it was priced at $70/w and is now below $2/w (CGIAR, 2013). The government of California will primarily subsidize the plants, however the U.S and Canada government should loan towards the investment as well. The U.S and Canada should help invest because If the solution is not employed and water availability continues to decrease, the food prices will increase for both U.S and Canada which can cause even larger problems. Since California is on the shore, the plants can take in and let out seawater with ease. With sea levels increasing, there is more than enough seawater currently, but a lack of freshwater. If enough water is provided to farms in California, the economic, social, environmental and political impacts which mentioned previously will diminish. Groundwater digging must come to a halt, before the impacts worsen, and a new source of water is necessary. Countries such as Saudi Arabia have begun investing in renewable energy desalination plants, and these plants …show more content…
It takes the desalination plants two gallons of seawater to make one gallon of freshwater. The issue with this is that when the seawater is poured back out, it now has a much larger quantity of salt. Some marine wildlife and animals will not react well with more salt, which could also be contaminated, and the organisms can be put in danger because of this. Moreover, the plants can engulf parts of the ecosystem in the process, which is another environmental weakness. The final issue with desalination is that If enough precipitation comes to California, there is no reason for the government to pay money to keep the plant running, so they often close down and are considered a misspend of important