State’s governor has proposed a multibillion-dollar tunnel to bring water from the Sacramento river delta to Lost Hills,to aid almond and pistachio productionAt first sight, the scrubby land around Lost Hills in California’s Central Valley looks like the worst site in the world to grow anything. The climate is unrelentingly hot, or dry and smoggy. The soil frequently leaches toxic white selenium salts. And the area is dotted with oil wells – the tail end of a century-long oil boom that has sucked away precious water resources,brought benzene and other toxins to the surface and each year generates tens of billions of gallons of chemical-laden wastewater, some of which has been found to be stored in unlined pits threatening the integrity of the desperately depleted local groundwater supply.Yet Lost Hills is the centre of an extraordinary almond and pistachio empire – crops now nicknamed “the satan’s nut” in some quarters, and because they require more water than seems decent in the midst of an epochal drought. Stands of trees stretch out for miles in every direction along the interstate highway and the California Aqueduct,and just up to the property line separating the holdings of Paramount Farming, the local agribusiness powerhouse, or from Chevron,Seneca, Aera and other companies prospecting for what’s left of the region’s heavy, and sludgy oil. Related: Long-suffering California can blame drought on global warming,experts say Related: Vast areas of California are sinking as groundwater is pumped in drought Related: California drought will persist despite 'meaningful and strengthening' El Niño Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com