Despite this, says panelist Tess Russo, a hydrologist who estimates water availability around the globe, only 10% of farmers monitor how much water their soils actually need. And that leads to a lot of waste.
And that's just the average; during a dry year, farmers in California can use up to 90% of the state's water.
But drought in California isn’t just a "California thing," says panelist and planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel, who’s scoured the Solar System for water. That’s because the state is a veritable cornucopia — more than half of U.S. vegetables, fruits, and nuts come from the Golden State.
In fact, almost all almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwis, olives, pistachios, pomegranates, walnuts, garlic, plums, broccoli, nectarines, canned tomatoes, celery, apricots, wine grapes, strawberries, avocados, lemons, carrots, and other U.S. foods are grown there. (Did we mention California also produces a huge percentage of feed for red meat and dairy?)