This week's blog is a debate on the topic of California Agricultural water use.
The question: Can farms survive without drying up California?
Do your research! Click the following link and choose to read some of the editorial pieces from the debaters on the issue. With whom do you agree?
Remember to cite evidence from the text, respond to classmates' points of view, and write at least two full paragraphs on the issue.
In California, there are a total of about 81,700 farms with an average size of 311 acres. Overall, there's about 25.3 million acres of farmland in California. Each acre of land is draining out water from California that others need. Farms in California will not survive without drying up the entire state because California is already suffering with the amount of water they have.
ReplyDeleteIn California, lakes and ponds are already empty. This is partially because of irrigation. Although it is mostly because the lack of water irrigation "...uses as much as 80 percent of California's surface water..." http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13). Because of this, the Earth beneath the surface has even lost it's water. This is only one of the many reasons that California's farms will dry out the whole state.
I agree with Mailee because farms are large and most water is being used forwards farms. "80% of earths surface water is being used and drys up water beneath the surface" (source 1). Even though farms produce food, we need the extra water for other things too. People need to take showers, drink water, ect.. California doesn't have enough water for farms and other uses.
ReplyDeleteAlso, climate change isn't a good thing when it comes to water. "Competition over limited water resources continues and is exacerbated by climate change" (source 1). People like to go swimming in summer, drink lots of water in the summer, ect.. Farmers can use all of this water just for plants because of the dryer weather. This is one of many reasons why farmers can dry out the state.
No,I don't think farms can survive with the very low amount of water we have right now. Some crops need a lot of water to survive and it takes a very long time and a lot of water to produce one crop. With the condition we are in right now I don't think farms will survive. "...agriculture uses 80 percent of California's developed water supply..." (source 1). With the high demand of water right now, it would not be able to survive.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mailee because all of our rivers are being sucked dry and most of this is due to the agriculture. We will eventually not have enough water for ourselves because of the growth of plants. Plants are like a sponge, they soak up all of the water, but instead of squeezing it out, it stays there.
-Adrian J.
I think that some farms can. Agriculture is a key part because it provides money to the state and without California's produce, as Cesar Chavez demonstrated, the price of it will rise. And it has already. Plus, farmers haven't reached their full water conservation potential yet. For example, "most farmers still use non-scientific methods, such as the look of the crop, to determine when to water."(http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies).
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Adrian and his sponge analogy. Plants do soak up water in exchange for food, it's not like they just take it for no purpose. However, water is becoming more and more important for California. It might even become more important than the actual produce. One such reason for this is the fires we get in the summer. But jut putting my thoughts out there, what happens if/when we recover from the drought and the majority of the farms out there? Again, it's just a thought.
-Quintin
I don't think farms can survive without taking all the water from Cali. I think this because right in the beginning of the article, its says,"Agriculture uses 80 percent of California’s developed water supply." 80 percent is a lot! This takes up mostly all the water supply in Cali which is a huge problem. Also, some farmers are being flood irrigated, which is a lot of water in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with Adrian because plants take a lot of time to grow and need all the water. These farms could take a lot of our water, and next thing u know, POOF! All the water will be gone. we can ration our water supply so we can save water and maybe help the farms. Just sayin'. *Laughing Emoji
-Noah Gadia
I don't think farms can survive without drying up California. If others in California can take part in conserving water. However not a lot of people participate in this. " California lacks a comprehensive and accurate estimate of water use", (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies). California's drought is getting worse.
ReplyDelete"Competition over limited water resources continues and is exacerbated by climate change", (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies). People are competing over water usage. Also, the heat is just making it worse. There are a lot of farms in California. Farms need lots of water to water crops.
-Julianne R.
I believe that farms cannot survive without water. Without water, crops will begin to die and the already struggling farms will fail. Water has become extremely limited and if we don't stop water in California will disappear. In addition, farmers have sacrificed already enough, and it is going to waste. Other people should conserve water as well. "California lacks a comprehensive and accurate estimate of water use", (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Julianne because competition as well as a lack of conserving water has lead to failing farms and dead crops. As we said before, farms need water to survive, and without water, they will die. In addition, I also agree with Kylie because, ""80% of earths surface water is being used and drys up water beneath the surface" This means that 80% of our conserved water is being nearly wasted. We should take stand and do our best to conserve water.
-Jackson T
The many farms across California could not survive without water. In addition they are a big part of why California is in a drought. For example, ''and most farmers still use non-scientific methods, such as the look of the crop, to determine when to water." Most farmers don't use a schedual when they water their plants so they just do it when they feel like which is a big waste of water. Farms are a big waste of water because they can't survive without frequent use of it for crops.
ReplyDeleteLike Kylie said, the climate doesn't help either. When the weather is dry the crops need to be watered more frequently to survive. "Competition over limited water resources continues and is exacerbated by climate change" Now farms and other places have to compete for their water,they use more of it because we have a littler supply of it.
-Lauren M.
I think that farmers can survive without water. Farmers will definitely have to start to conserve more water, but they will still survive. Just like Quitnin said, the prices will go up and veggies are already on the rise. But farmers can survive if they start to conserve water better. "most farmers still use non-scientific methods, such as the look of the crop, to determine when to water (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies).
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Noah and Adrian because it does give something back. Te way that Adrian made the analogy sound made it seem like the plants give nothing back. The plants give back food and not all plants need lots of water. THings like hydroponics can help reduce waste, increase food, and lessen the use of water.
-Asha A.
I believe that most farms could survive, as long as they learn to conserve water. By conserving water, we would have a lot more water to spare. Like Asha said, most farmers use non-scientific methods, therefore spending a lot more water. By using the water, only when it is needed, furthermore using the leftover water to, a: using the water for other things and b: planting and growing more crops.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with what the opposite sides say. Some argument imply that plants use up a lot of water, which they don't if rationed correctly, and give absolutely nothing back. This statement is incorrect, as it gives food, which is another material, that is needed to survive. It also allows for livestock to be grown. It also provides a material that can be sold, to get money or other materials.
-Julian M.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies
Farmers use too much of our water supply and we need to keep watch of how much all of California's water we can save. Farmers use 80% of the water in California, which is very dangerous for the drought we are in right now. We might not even have enough water to last us until the year 2016!! We need to be very careful of how much water we use. Water is very limited in our time of drought.
ReplyDeleteTo help with our drought, we need to have a statewide system to watch our water use. Watching how much water we use can help limit how much we use. We must also support how much education we give on how to limit how much water we use. It can teach farmers, students and other people how to be careful with our water. We must be careful about how much we use our water, it can have many bad affects on us in the future.
-Eliza A.
I think that farms cannot survive without water. Without water farmers wouldn't be able to water their crops. This is most likely why California is in a drought. As Lauren said farmers don't exactly have a scheduled watering time for their crops. So they probably just water whenever they want." Most farmers still use non-scientific methods, such as the look of the crop, to determine when to water" (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jackson and Lauren because I don't think that farmers can live and work without water. Although they are causing most of California's drought, most farmers wouldn't be able to have farms without water usage.
Farms can survive without drying California. One source said, " last summer about 15,000 farmers on San Joaquin Valley’s east side received zero allocations of water from the Central Valley Project"(source 1). This was, as it said, last year. If this was last year, these farms survived. The point is if they survived last year, why can't the survive again? Yes, the state of California might be dryer, but can't the farms get one allocation this year and not zero? Over all, it might be tight, but farms can survive without drying up California.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Eliza, she had said we need to watch how much water we use. I do think that farms can survive, but here's the catch; we need to help conserve the water. If we don't keep watch on the water now, after a few years of the farms barely scraping by, we will not have enough water in California for these farms. Agriculture is one of the biggest industries in California, after that the state will lose more money. Other then that, there will not be a lot less food available in California. Think about the hunger nowadays, now double it. People will also lose jobs. However, that's just the start. Lets just say many thing would go wrong. Getting back to the point, don't waste water and be conscience of how much you use.
(source 1: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/farmers-battle-with-california-drought-18841)
I think that if farmers continue to plant and care for crops like they do today then the crops won't be able to survive for much longer. The way the farmers are treating their crops makes it a lot more easy for California to loose water. "... most farmers still use non-scientific methods, such as the look of the crop, to determine when to water." (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies) These inaccurate measurements can lead to farmers using a lot more water than needed. This causes more water to be wasted and gone instead of used for other purposes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Megan because eventually the water will run out and the farmers will have nothing to water their crops with. The fact, is that if California continues to not have water, then we will run out of water fast. No more water does not only mean no more crops, but everything else that includes water because water has no replacement.
I believe farmers should get most of the water that is received. Due to changes in California such as drought, water supply had been very limited. "Another million acres that gets water from the state received only 5 percent of its supply last year." (Keppen) . Due to farmers not getting water, they are forced to pay more money than they usually do. Some farmers even looked towards groundwater, which is not sustainable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Asha saying how giving farmers water does give things back in return. The water given to the farmers is then given to plants and livestock. Plants can then produce things such as fruits and vegetables. While on the other hand, animals such as cows can provide things such as milk and sheep can produce wool too! Overall, I believe most of the percentage of Califronia's water should be given to people such as farmers.
Pages Used - http://goo.gl/TGzxKc (Dan Keppen) - NY Times
- Ian B. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Farms will not survive without drying out California. There are thousands of farms in america that would cost us a lot of water witch is devastate our water source. In fact, about 80 percent of California's water supply is used for agriculture. This is really bad for the serious drought we are having. Very few farmers actually use advanced scientific methods for growing their crops.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Noah that Farms use up a lot of California's small water supply. I also agree with Adrian that farms won't survive in the conditions we have because they need lots of water to grow crops. Regardless of what I think about the current condition, I agree with Julian that farms can survive by using scientific methods that save water and grow the crops.
-Oscar O.
P.S. Mewtwo rules you!
I believe that farmers can survive. Of course they have to conserve water, but that shouldn't be too hard. Just like Julian said, if they do we will have more water and we won't have more problems that are water related. "most farmers still use non-scientific methods, such as the look of the crop, to determine when to water (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies).
ReplyDeleteThere is already proof that they can do it. There are already some farmers who conserve water. We just need every farmer to do it.I can understand how some farmers do need a lot of water, and that's fine. But if smaller farms use more water than they need, then thats just ruining it for every other farm that needs water. But we cant depend on one farmer, all the farmers need to work together.
-Max Vidal
I believe that farms can survive, but they also must survive. A lot of America's farms are in California, and cutting off water from them would be disastrous for the vegetation that is delivered through out America. We need enough water to always be in reach of farms. In addition, if farms aren't able to receive as much water, the farmers won't be able to sell their crop.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason is that farmers will be able to figure out ways to limit their own use. If we limit the farmers, we don't know how much of a crisis we would put them in. But if they could control the own water they use, it would be different. They would leave water for the rest of America, while also giving themselves enough water. "The good news is that California farmers are smart and innovative, and existing technologies and management practices can reduce agriculture’s vulnerability to water supply constraints and improve its long-term sustainability."http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/california-needs-better-water-management-and-pricing-policies"
I dont think farms can survive without drying California. At the rate we're going, California would run out of water. "...agriculture uses 80 percent of California's developed water supply." (NYT) Since California is in a drought, we need all the water we can save. It doesn't help us if our farms use most of the water we need to survive.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, some farms are using new methods to save water while watering the crops. Even though some are using these new methods, over 50% of California's farms still use water wasting methods like flood irrigation. I agree with Eva and Megan that farmers need to conserve water. If they keep using water at the rate they are now, they will eventually run out of water to use for the crops. Overall, I still think farmers will dry out California if they continue to use the amount of water to water their crops.
Farms can survive. They will have to preserve water like they have done previously. Some farms are using new watering methods to help regulate the use of water. These methods will help to keep crops alive. Farms will survive the drought of california, because they can regulate the use of water.
ReplyDeleteSome people however, would disagree. They would say that if California keeps getting drier, the farms will definitely run out of water. They are wrong because even if California gets drier we can build canals that transport water from other states. The farms would still be able to get the water they need. These new methods help farms save water.
P.S. The prices for foods grown by farms are going to up because of the drought.
I think that farms cannot survive without drying California and there are many many reasons. First, "agriculture uses 80 percent ofof California's developed water supply" and 80% is a lot which means a lot of water, Second, the farmers need to try something new like instead of flood irrigation they should try and conserve water like Megan, Eva and Talyssa said. Third, if farmers keep using the water at the speed or the rate there going at right now, they will run out of water and there will be no water left for any of the crops. Fourth, farms are already having a hard time trying to survive with the conditions and the weather right now. Overall, I just think that farmers should slow down a little on how much water they use and we should be careful about how much water we use. Carlvesi L.
DeleteI agree with Mailee. California is already suffering with a drought and we need more water. The farms are definitely taking up a lot of water. I believe farms cannot survive without drying up California."Agriculture uses 80 percent of California's water supply." That is almost 100 percent of our water. While the farms are using 80 percent, the rest of California only has 20 percent of the water supply. Right now, 20 percent is not enough and he farms are defintley not going to survive without drying up California.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Talyssa. On the other hand, some farms are being smart with irrigation and know how much water they need. Yet, 50 percent of California's farms use the wasting method. Farms are wasting water when we need it the most. Farms will not survive without drying up California.
I think that California's farms can't survive in this drought we are in. Many of the most important crops need a lot of water to survive. For example, "...which uses as much as 80 percent of California’s surface water, has begun to dry up even the water beneath." This proves that California is in a serious drought and we need to do something about it.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason why farms cannot survive in this drought is because the climate is also very dry. For example, "Competition over limited water resources continues and is exacerbated by climate change." Climate change is a big part of the farms not being able to survive with the limited water.
I think farms can survive the drought overall, but they will have to make some sacrifices in the process. It is very important that the farms do survive, because California is one of the leading produce providers in the nation. A loss of California's farms would mean less food heading into grocery stores nationwide. However, there are certain plants that are sucking up the limited resources we have, and that must stop.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, California is slowly heading to a better state. Yet, "...most farmers still use non-scientific methods, such as the look of the crop, to determine when to water" (New York Times, Better Water Management and Pricing Policies).If every farmer used watering methods that did not waste water, we wouldn't even be in a crisis. Laws can and should be passed that force farmers to use better, more sensible methods to water their plants. Besides, the plants will benefit from this as well, leaving the farmers happier.
Governor Brown will have to pass laws that help us save water. So an option would be to give incentives to farmers: "Farmers would continue to grow as much product, but with less water..." (New York Times, Modernize Irrigation with Incentives). As it may be expensive for someone to switch over to more scientific methods of farming, a proper incentive would be to promise them that they'd make the same amount of money, if not more. This is true, because some farmers have been forced to reduce their crops in the hope of making some profit, but better watering would increase their crop and make them look better compared to other brands.
As Pierce said, farms can survive. All we have to do is help our state's farmers, and help ourselves. The sooner we can do some problem-solving, the sooner our supermarkets will be filled with cherries once more, and our taxes will go down (Hallelujah!).
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I'm so so so so sorry that this is a bit late...I just got home from Track, or else I'd have turned it in right after school. I hope this compensates, and that it's okay I turned it in on Monday!
Cheers,
Sriha S. =^.^=
P.S. I hope you get better soon, Ms. Mansour, if you are sick (since you were absent today)
Thank you, Sriha! I'm feeling great -- the doctor says the pneumonia is all cleared from my lungs. Thank goodness! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat responses, all! I'm really Impressed with how much you've all grown in your writing, and in your ability to incorporate evidence. Take a look back at the early blogs to see the huge difference!
Love my kiddos!!
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