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Bill Draper has died

113 points · 36 comments · bookofjoe

  1. jhbadger · · focus · HN ↗
    I do wish that "Silicon Valley" would have been elsewhere less useful, though. As mentioned, before it became the tech hub, the Santa Clara valley was extremely productive agricultural land that is now paved over.
    1. pfdietz · · focus · HN ↗
      We have lots of agricultural land; too much, actually. This is a side effect of the green revolution.
      1. fmajid · · focus · HN ↗
        What we in California don’t have is sustainably plentiful water, or a sane system of water rights to apportion it.
        1. brudgers · · focus · HN ↗
          In much of the US, water is a common good and there are no water rights.

          There is no sane system of water rights which is why there are cotton fields in Arizona.

          1. btilly · · focus · HN ↗
            Out west, water rights are based in common law, sometimes formalized by legislation. And common law is based on how miners and prospectors resolved water conflicts while panning for gold.

            While there may be no sane system, the legacy of "first come, first serve" and ",use it or lose it" is particularly insane.

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