Re: Facts contained in the liner notes to Moby's "Everything is Wrong"

[Jim Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 04:19 PM 04/04/2000 -0400, you wrote:
> The water question is not so simple, especially in states like California
> that are naturally dry. When I was there a couple of months ago driving up
> the main interstate that runs through the agribusiness Central Valley, I
> saw signs every few miles urging opposition to proposed legislation that
> would interfere with access to water. Although water takes the form of
> rain, it does not manifest itself uniformly like lawn sprinklers.

I wasn't saying that water isn't scarce. I just thought that Moby's stats
were exaggerating on that single issue. (BTW, what's his music like?)

Part of the problem in California is subsidization of water for
agriculture. As a result of below-market prices, there are things grown in
the Central Valley that shouldn't be. (If I remember correctly, some grow
rice.)  That's not to say that the market price is "right," however. The
price in Los Angeles should be higher, to discourage green lawns and
swimming pools. Strictly speaking, there should be a sliding scale,
charging more per barrel as one's barrels per month rises, so that the poor
(who use less water) don't get slammed. The water-wasters would get slammed
instead.

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx & http://liberalarts.lmu.edu/~JDevine/JDevine.html