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How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

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Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#31

Post by adolph »

clooper wrote: post #30
khaki54 wrote: post #22

[flagged]

Do you work on a farm or do you just consume their output? Degrowth is obviously not the only option but if you have never worked on an industrial scale farm then you should do some more research before casting blame on people who are trying to educate you about the scale of the problem facing us. Resources necessary for intensive industrial farming are running out. Business as usual is not sustainable regardless of…

> you should do some more research before casting blame on people who are trying to educate you

Clearly these would-be educators are doing a terrible job if one must “do research” before “casting blame.”

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#33

Post by nyokodo »

Jedd wrote: post #21

The margins are doubtless so narrow that it's not feasible, but pumping during the day into a storage tank, and irrigating at night (while evaporation is relatively low) would be a way to slightly improve soil (though not aquifer) recharge. Certainly it would require less water volume , but again, the infrastructure costs for panels + submersible + storage are probably untenable in precisely the places this is needed…

> pumping during the day into a storage tank, and irrigating at night

Or, irrigate during the day but use sub-surface drip irrigation. [1]

1. https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/irrigate/oow/p05/Evett.pdf

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#34

Post by Jedd »

peterleiser wrote: post #26
Jedd wrote: post #21

The margins are doubtless so narrow that it's not feasible, but pumping during the day into a storage tank, and irrigating at night (while evaporation is relatively low) would be a way to slightly improve soil (though not aquifer) recharge. Certainly it would require less water volume , but again, the infrastructure costs for panels + submersible + storage are probably untenable in precisely the places this is needed…

If you don't irrigate during the day in hot climates some crops will die, and the yields will be terrible for most.

> If you don't irrigate during the day in hot climates most crops will die

That is clearly not true.

Most crops are fine with watering after sunset / before sunrise.

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#35

Post by Jedd »

nyokodo wrote: post #33
Jedd wrote: post #21

The margins are doubtless so narrow that it's not feasible, but pumping during the day into a storage tank, and irrigating at night (while evaporation is relatively low) would be a way to slightly improve soil (though not aquifer) recharge. Certainly it would require less water volume , but again, the infrastructure costs for panels + submersible + storage are probably untenable in precisely the places this is needed…

> pumping during the day into a storage tank, and irrigating at night Or, irrigate during the day but use sub-surface drip irrigation. [1] 1. https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/irrigate/oow/p05/Evett.pdf

Yes, sub-surface, or drip close to root zone, is perfect -- however that's really expensive, in terms of capex as well as maintenance, harvesting, etc.

Drip systems tend to require a) a lot of pressure, and b) a very consistent pressure, to get reliable output. These are also expensive to buy & run.

Drip or leaky-hose type underground systems are difficult to maintain (I've tried!) just because you can't see them. The way you find out something's wrong is usually because a plant or an area is looking very very happy, and other plants / areas are dying off.

Under-mulch is good, but doesn't lend itself to broadscale cropping as described in TFA.

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#36

Post by leros »

I know some farmers in North Texas where they are pulling water out of a depleted aquifer. The water is starting to get salty so they're adjusting to salt tolerant variants of their crops. The ground is also starting to drop due to the aquifer draining. It's crazy to see

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#37

Post by [deleted] »

Jedd wrote: post #35
nyokodo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> pumping during the day into a storage tank, and irrigating at night Or, irrigate during the day but use sub-surface drip irrigation. [1] 1. https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/irrigate/oow/p05/Evett.pdf

Yes, sub-surface, or drip close to root zone, is perfect -- however that's really expensive, in terms of capex as well as maintenance, harvesting, etc. Drip systems tend to require a) a lot of pressure, and b) a very consistent pressure, to get reliable output. These are also expensive to buy & run. Drip or leaky-hose type underground systems are difficult to maintain (I've tried!) just because you can't see them. Th…

[deleted]

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#38

Post by nyokodo »

Jedd wrote: post #35
nyokodo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> pumping during the day into a storage tank, and irrigating at night Or, irrigate during the day but use sub-surface drip irrigation. [1] 1. https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/irrigate/oow/p05/Evett.pdf

Yes, sub-surface, or drip close to root zone, is perfect -- however that's really expensive, in terms of capex as well as maintenance, harvesting, etc. Drip systems tend to require a) a lot of pressure, and b) a very consistent pressure, to get reliable output. These are also expensive to buy & run. Drip or leaky-hose type underground systems are difficult to maintain (I've tried!) just because you can't see them. Th…

> These are also expensive to buy & run.

Long-term, it’s the cheapest option if you want to farm in an arid region.

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#39

Post by itsanaccount »

Viewing humanity like a single organism, this is the strategy where like a slime mold we expand to consume all resources, then most of the organism dies off while some number of spores go on to continue to the process elsewhere.

If we'd like that not to happen, because we like our civilizations and like not to see them crumble, we must develop some kind of governance mechanism to prevent slime mold behavior.

Seeing so many conversations about resource exhaustion/climate change/ecosystem collapse boil down to "nunht uh" is.. I can't even say tiring anymore. I'm beyond tired. At this point we're gonna find out exactly what behavior is encoded in human nature one way or another.

Re: How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting Groundwater

#40

Post by peterleiser »

clooper wrote: post #30
khaki54 wrote: post #22

[flagged]

Do you work on a farm or do you just consume their output? Degrowth is obviously not the only option but if you have never worked on an industrial scale farm then you should do some more research before casting blame on people who are trying to educate you about the scale of the problem facing us. Resources necessary for intensive industrial farming are running out. Business as usual is not sustainable regardless of…

Agreed. And everyone needs to be aware that this is a global problem. California has some of the best farm land in the world, but many of the years in the past decade have been brutal from water shortages. Some years have had 50% water deliveries and some have had zero, depending on the water district, water contracts, water rights, location, etc. Being told you can you use 50% of your normal water supply generally means you plant half your fields and leave the other half fallow, because most crops aren't viable if you only use half the necessary water.
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