Inquiry Question
Our Inquiry Question:
How much water is used for agriculture/food production in California and is it sustainable?
Data:
California produces more food than any other U.S. state, supplying a large part of the country’s milk, beef and produce. California is also among the Nation’s driest states, and its agricultural sector puts enormous pressure on the water supplies of the entire southwest.
1) California is the most productive agricultural state in the union, and agriculture uses 80 percent of California’s water.
2) California almonds use a stunning 1.1 trillion gallons of water each year, or enough for you to take a 10-minute shower each day for 86 million years (using a low-flow showerhead).
3) California as a whole diverts or pumps 43 million acre-feet of water each year to supplement its meager rainfall. In total, agriculture consumes 34 million acre-feet of that.
4) An acre-foot is just what it sounds like: the amount of water needed to cover an acre of flat ground up to a foot, or about 325,000 gallons of water.
5) In 2013, there were 940,000 acres of almonds in California, according to the USDA. Each acre of almonds uses three to four acre-feet of water each year, most of which are delivered via river diversions or groundwater.
6) Almonds alone use about 10 percent of California’s total water supply each year. That’s nuts. But almonds are also the state’s most lucrative exported agricultural product, with California producing 80 percent of the world’s supply.
7) A pound of beef takes up to 5,000 gallons. More than 30 percent of California’s agricultural water use either directly or indirectly supports growing animals for food.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-wells/water-wars-in-california-factory-farms-draining-the-state-dry_b_7021414.html
Script (First Draft) :
California is known for many things, Theme Parks, a beautiful coast and agriculture.
How much water is used for agriculture/food production in California and is it sustainable?
Data:
California produces more food than any other U.S. state, supplying a large part of the country’s milk, beef and produce. California is also among the Nation’s driest states, and its agricultural sector puts enormous pressure on the water supplies of the entire southwest.
1) California is the most productive agricultural state in the union, and agriculture uses 80 percent of California’s water.
2) California almonds use a stunning 1.1 trillion gallons of water each year, or enough for you to take a 10-minute shower each day for 86 million years (using a low-flow showerhead).
3) California as a whole diverts or pumps 43 million acre-feet of water each year to supplement its meager rainfall. In total, agriculture consumes 34 million acre-feet of that.
4) An acre-foot is just what it sounds like: the amount of water needed to cover an acre of flat ground up to a foot, or about 325,000 gallons of water.
5) In 2013, there were 940,000 acres of almonds in California, according to the USDA. Each acre of almonds uses three to four acre-feet of water each year, most of which are delivered via river diversions or groundwater.
6) Almonds alone use about 10 percent of California’s total water supply each year. That’s nuts. But almonds are also the state’s most lucrative exported agricultural product, with California producing 80 percent of the world’s supply.
7) A pound of beef takes up to 5,000 gallons. More than 30 percent of California’s agricultural water use either directly or indirectly supports growing animals for food.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-wells/water-wars-in-california-factory-farms-draining-the-state-dry_b_7021414.html
Script (First Draft) :
California is known for many things, Theme Parks, a beautiful coast and agriculture.