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Cliffe_Turkey t1_iudag1c wrote

It's almost as if pumping water out of every aquifer with reckless abandon for 150 yrs combined with global warming and surface water regulations that encourage overuse and waste has consequences!

It's unbelievably hard for me to be sympathetic towards farmers and ranchers in the west as what they've wrought comes home to roost. Anyone with an honest bone in their body could see this coming 100 years ago.

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ShittDickk t1_iuey94n wrote

They created the dust bowl in the south and when that caused the damage it did, they just spread out and continued those techniques everywhere else.

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Cliffe_Turkey t1_iufaro2 wrote

And the race to the bottom of the Ogallala aquifer threatens to bring it back all over again! Yaaaay! But don't regulate groundwater use or anything, we have traditions out here!

For real though: the IRA bill has serious money allocated to regenerative ag, super cool that the feds are actually investing in something like that. Hope it helps, not my area of expertise.

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DamnDame t1_iugoahx wrote

Unlike surface water, in Nebraska the groundwater belongs to the people of the state. Now, people own the land above it and over several decades many wells have tapped the Ogallala Aquifer, but the state put a moratorium on new wells over a decade ago. Meters have also been put on groundwater wells.

There is a clear understanding of the need to conserve water in the state and there are many competing stakeholders. Unlike other areas of this massive aquifer (8 states), Nebraska has the good fortune of having a large mass of sand across most of the aquifer allowing rain to percolate through the sediment. The recharge rate is quite good. (The deepest part of the aquifer is in Nebraska and it contributes to 24,000 miles of streams in the state.)

For those who are unaware, precision agriculture is a growing practice that has environmental and economic benefits for producers and their communities. Reddit gets pretty dark, I'm offering this information to those who may be unaware of research and practices already in place to improve farming and ranching. (Using less resources, fertilizer, herbicides/pesticides is a win for all.)

Of all the water that covers the earth, 3% is fresh water. 2% is frozen in glaciers, leaving only 1% available for world to use.

Don't run the water when you brush your teeth.

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kalasea2001 t1_iue66h7 wrote

>sympathetic towards farmers and ranchers in the west as what they've wrought

This is absolutely not just a farmer rancher issue. This is an everyone issue. We all allowed this to happen.

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GreatAndPowerfulNixy t1_iueaz9r wrote

The percentage of water use by almond farmers alone in California dwarfs all other private usage.

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Adamofatom t1_iuf1bhb wrote

And who do you think the farmers farm for?

I am definitely for more regulations for the industry. But at the end of the day the industry feeds the needs of the consumers.

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TheLastForestOnEarth t1_iufaf1h wrote

Farmers farm for themselves. Farming is a for-profit business. They're not heroes, selflessly generating food so the rest of us can live.

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kuroimakina t1_iuf3f6w wrote

Consumers are stupid, and those who aren’t stupid are often too overworked and tired to also spend all their time picking and choosing every single purchase to minimize their impact to the environment. It’s all just how the system works - make everyone overworked, undereducated, and/or generally disenfranchised and they’ll just accept anything

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MewgDewg t1_iuf80fz wrote

idk friend - I understand your sentiment but anecdotally it only took me an afternoon to figure out what in my area was reasonably sustainable and what specifically was not, when certain things I like were in season etc.. I definitely agree with the "No ethical consumption" sentiment but I don't feel like it's a good excuse not to try

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Cliffe_Turkey t1_iuf8x3l wrote

Sure, I agree. We shouldn't build giant cities in the desert either. Or let private equity buy up water rights and sell them to the highest bidder. Lawns and golf courses are ridiculous.

But look how water is allocated and who is using most of it in the west. Look at the insane things our systems of water law have incentivized. Look at the lawmakers who refuse to change the systems of incentives. Look at the ranchers and farmers (most of them) who refuse to do the most basic water efficiency changes because they've got the private property rights, and their traditions. It's the biggest piece, by far.

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ATribeOfAfricans t1_iuef937 wrote

This is the societal demand man and lack of regulation, farmer just doing what they gotta do to make money. Tragedy of the commons

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dumnezero t1_iuejzns wrote

Tragedy of the privates in this case, as it's happening on privatized lands with privatized wells.

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ATribeOfAfricans t1_iugbsa6 wrote

Some states have water rights, but they are set up incredibly short sighted and unrealistic.

In places like Texas though, where I live, it's a free for all and you can use as much as you want so the incentive becomes use as much if the water before your neighbor does

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dumnezero t1_iugvt5c wrote

And is this based on owning private land with water underneath?

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ATribeOfAfricans t1_iuiwrz0 wrote

No. There are plenty of wells pulling water from public lands. What are you even trying to force dude?

We aren't properly rationing water, which requires better regulation. Simple as that. We're not to mad max water control just yet

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[deleted] t1_iue4f9t wrote

[deleted]

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Cliffe_Turkey t1_iufb883 wrote

I would disagree here. Tons of measures of biodiversity have been in free fall for a long time. Unregulated groundwater use has dried up springs and driven species to extinction without most folks even noticing. The west was always fragile, and what we see now is a pale imitation of nature due to 12,000+ years of depredation and degradation. Though certainly things have accelerated in the last 150 yrs.

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