ckreon

Ok - no Apple, no PayPal, no credit cards...

So what could they distribute on that you would be able to use?

Can you elaborate on the long-standing water sales? This is exactly the issue I was hoping to hear more about!

Who are we selling water to, and why are they buying it from a state notorious for low water levels?

I mean, the hills are always brown here (at least in the 20+ years I've been around to see).

And there's no doubt that being the largest food producer takes a lot of water.

I was hoping for more facts/info, or a clear reasoning. What you stated would be true regardless of drought conditions, so I guess nobody really knows the answer. The canal is still full, which is the source of most Ag water (not ground wells, though I know they are used to some extent as well). We've drilled lower wells each year too, drought or not, so that doesn't say a whole lot either.

I've literally seen "congress created dustbowl" signs on farms for about 10 years, so this isn't the first time water has been in short supply. Apparently the biggest users feel it's a legislative issue, not a drought issue. But they also have bias in the situation.

This does not reinforce the rumors of water export either, it just doesn't disprove it.

So what actual journalism/fact-finding have you done on the matter? From the answers I've read (most of which haven't dealt with the drought at all), I've seen that the hills are brown and golf courses are green. Again, that's just always been true here - central CA is high desert, not lush and temperate. I feel like everyone is just parroting the same info, but nobody really knows what's going on.

Certainly we can't turn a desert into the biggest food-exporter in the world without consequence, I'm just not sure we're getting all the info.

I've heard rumors that the severity of the drought is largely exaggerated, and that investors interested in purchasing huge swaths of land up and down California are actually to blame.

According to rumor, this land is needed for several big-money future projects (bullet train being one that I remember). Farmers weren't/aren't cooperating with buyout deals, and thus, these investors began buying huge amounts of water rights and shipping it elsewhere. A farm in a dry dessert is worthless, and can be picked up for pennies-on-the-dollar down the road.

I have no idea of the validity of this, but knowing big business, and knowing about at least one individual who made big money in similar deals (had insider info of the NAFTA deal, bought up a ton of land along the still-to-be super highway run that will go from Canada to the Panama canal, sold property rights to the government for huge profit), it doesn't seem implausible.

Does any of your research seem to validate this?

Interesting. Thank you for continuing to follow up with this - much appreciated!