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Water scarcity in the West is as much man-made as it is an effect of climate change, according to a ProPublica examination of federal crop subsidies that encourage farmers to use more water than they need for crops that are not in demand – namely cotton, which takes six times as much water as lettuce to grow, and 60 percent more than wheat.
From the story:
“Over the last 20 years, Arizona’s farmers have collected more than $1.1 billion in cotton subsidies, nine times more than the amount paid out for the next highest subsidized crop. In California, where cotton also gets more support than most other crops, farmers received … $3 billion in cotton aid.”
Read the full investigation here.