California almond production consumes substantially more water annually than all U.S. data centers combined.

Chatted with a water resource economist at an event in California yesterday. The state’s water “shortage” really is one of the most unforced errors in policymaking. Key stats: - farmers use 80% of the developed water supply - residents use 20% - cities pay ~20x higher prices (!) for water than farmers (~$722/acre-foot vs ~$36/acre-foot) - some of the biggest agricultural districts in the state pay literally $0 for their water - meanwhile agriculture accounts for just ~2% of California’s economy It’s crazy that politicians tell residents to take shorter showers or get rid of their lawns instead of just charging farmers the market price for their water usage.