Chapo Trap House 899 - Nut Up feat. Yasha Levine & Rowan Wernham (1/13/25)
Jan 14, 2025
Join journalist Yasha Levine, known for his work on California's water issues, and filmmaker Rowan Wernham, co-director of "Pistachio Wars," as they dive into the tangled web of California's water politics. They reveal how powerful agribusinesses, like the Resnick family, manipulate water rights, leading to ecological disasters. The conversation spans the environmental impact of pistachio farming, the exploitation within communities like Lost Hills, and the broader implications for water management amidst the state's corporate control.
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Water in the West
- Water ownership and control in the American Southwest, especially California, are unique due to the arid climate and the need to move water.
- This makes water a central issue, unlike other regions where development occurs near existing water sources.
California's Terraforming
- Southern California's development is a massive terraforming project, diverting water from distant sources.
- LA receives water from the Colorado River, the Sierra Nevada, and Mount Shasta, hundreds of miles away.
Quasi-Privatized Water
- Though publicly owned, California water is quasi-privatized, with control tied to land ownership.
- Large agricultural companies like Wonderful Company effectively control local water districts influencing allocation.
