Wednesday February 1, 2023
The Hill —
A new report from the nongovernmental organization Food and Water Watch details the extent to which both the agriculture and oil and gas industries impact water stability in California. Combined, the sectors use hundreds of millions of gallons of freshwater each year.
Despite the deluge of rain and snow that fell on California earlier this winter, the vast majority of the state still suffers from at least a moderate drought. The past two decades marked the region’s driest period in more than 1,200 years.
Although climate change is in part to blame for the water crisis in the West, growing demand also plays a role in water shortages.
“Many of our headlines speak to the drought as the sole reason for our water crisis, but this report clearly shows how big oil and big agriculture are abusing and using billions of gallons of our water for their benefit — enough to meet the water needs of every Californian,” Chirag Bhakta, the California Organizing Director at Food and Water Watch, said in an interview with Changing America.