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font-weight: normal;margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 18px; line-height: 21px; max-height: 43px; color: #000000; overflow: hidden !important; display: inline-block;">Making Sense of Water</span></a><div style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; color: #999999; max-height: 81px; font-family: 'Georgia', 'Times', 'Times New Roman', 'serif';overflow: hidden;" class="link-enhancr-card-description link-enhancr-element">California must make agriculture pay its fair share.</div></div></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="link-enhancr-element" style="height: 4px; background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 0pt; border-collapse: collapse;"><div class="link-enhancr-element" style="height: 4px; background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 4pt;"></div></td></tr><tr><td class="link-enhancr-element" style="vertical-align: middle; font-family: 'Arial', 'Helvetica Neue', 'Helvetica', 'sans-serif';"><div class="link-enhancr-element" style="font-size: 0pt;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/opinion/making-sense-of-water.html?emc=eta1&_r=0" class="link-enhancr-card-url link-enhancr-element" style="color: black; 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margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">BERKELEY, Calif. — Almost every number used to analyze California’s drought can be debated, but this can be safely said: No level of restrictions on residential use can solve the problem. The solution lies with agriculture, which <a href="http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_415WFFR.pdf" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">consumes more than its fair share</a>.</div><div class="" data-para-count="65" data-total-count="334" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">That doesn’t mean homeowners can’t and shouldn’t cut back.</div><div class="" data-para-count="403" data-total-count="737" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">But according to estimates by the Public Policy Institute of California, more water was used to grow almonds in 2013 than was used by all homes and businesses in San Francisco and Los Angeles put together. Even worse, most of those almonds are then exported — which means, effectively, that we are exporting water. Unless you’re the person or company making money off this deal, that’s just nuts.</div><aside class="" role="complementary" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); width: 300px; float: right; clear: right; margin: 0px 0px 45px 7px; padding-top: 14px;"><div class="" style=""><header style="margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 11px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226);" class=""><div class="" style="margin-right: 15px; float: left;"><img src="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/11/01/opinion/bittman-circular/bittman-circular-blogSmallThumb-v2.png" alt="" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%; display: block;" class="" data-id="dd1e4e91-4019-9f8b-fddc-e72da4217ed0"></div><div class="" style=""><div class="" data-collection-id="column.mark-bittman" style=""></div><h2 class="" style="font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.125rem; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; letter-spacing: 0.02em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/column/mark-bittman" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">Mark Bittman</a></h2><h3 class="" style="font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-weight: 500; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">Nutrition, agriculture and health policy.</h3></div></header><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 11px; list-style-type: none; padding-left: 0px;" class=""><li style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-bottom: 9px;" class=""><article class="" style=""><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/opinion/mcdonalds-turns-progressive.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmark-bittman" style="display: block; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); text-decoration: none;"><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer;"><span class="" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145); padding-right: 0px; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.125rem; float: left; max-width: 250px;">McDonald’s Turns ‘Progressive’ </span><time class="" datetime="2015-04-08" style="font-size: 0.625rem; line-height: 0.625rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); white-space: nowrap; display: inline-block; float: right; margin-top: 6px; text-transform: uppercase;">APR 8</time></h2></a></article></li><li style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-bottom: 9px;" class=""><article class="" style=""><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/opinion/stop-making-us-guinea-pigs.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmark-bittman" style="display: block; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); text-decoration: none;"><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer;"><span class="" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145); padding-right: 0px; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.125rem; float: left; max-width: 250px;">Stop Making Us Guinea Pigs </span><time class="" datetime="2015-03-25" style="font-size: 0.625rem; line-height: 0.625rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); white-space: nowrap; display: inline-block; float: right; margin-top: 6px; text-transform: uppercase;">MAR 25</time></h2></a></article></li><li style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-bottom: 9px;" class=""><article class="" style=""><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/why-not-utopia.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmark-bittman" style="display: block; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); text-decoration: none;"><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer;"><span class="" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145); padding-right: 0px; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.125rem; float: left; max-width: 250px;">Why Not Utopia? </span><time class="" datetime="2015-03-20" style="font-size: 0.625rem; line-height: 0.625rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); white-space: nowrap; display: inline-block; float: right; margin-top: 6px; text-transform: uppercase;">MAR 20</time></h2></a></article></li><li style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-bottom: 9px;" class=""><article class="" style=""><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/opinion/mark-bittman-feeding-kids-well.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmark-bittman" style="display: block; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); text-decoration: none;"><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer;"><span class="" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145); padding-right: 0px; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.125rem; float: left; max-width: 250px;">Feeding Kids Well </span><time class="" datetime="2015-03-11" style="font-size: 0.625rem; line-height: 0.625rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); white-space: nowrap; display: inline-block; float: right; margin-top: 6px; text-transform: uppercase;">MAR 11</time></h2></a></article></li><li style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-bottom: 9px;" class=""><article class="" style=""><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/opinion/how-should-we-eat.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmark-bittman" style="display: block; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); text-decoration: none;"><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.0625rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer;"><span class="" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145); padding-right: 0px; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.125rem; float: left; max-width: 250px;">How Should We Eat? </span><time class="" datetime="2015-02-25" style="font-size: 0.625rem; line-height: 0.625rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); white-space: nowrap; display: inline-block; float: right; margin-top: 6px; text-transform: uppercase;">FEB 25</time></h2></a></article></li></ul><footer style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); padding-top: 8px;" class=""><div class="" style="margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 0.8125rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/column/mark-bittman" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">See More »</a></div></footer></div></aside><div class="" data-para-count="394" data-total-count="1131" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">California produces more than 400 commodities in many different climates, so it’s difficult to generalize about agriculture. Many farmers are cutting back on water use, planting geographically appropriate crops and shifting to techniques that make sense, <a href="http://modernfarmer.com/2014/07/well-runs-dry-try-dry-farming/" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">like “dry” farming</a>. Others, however, are mining water as they would copper: When it runs out, they’ll find new ways to make money.</div><div class="" data-para-count="483" data-total-count="1614" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">So the big question is not, “How do we survive the drought?” — <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/06/science/beneath-california-crops-groundwater-crisis-grows.html" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">which could well be the new normal</a> — but, “How do we allocate water sensibly?” California grows fruits and vegetables for everyone; that’s a good thing. It would be an even better thing, however, if some of that production shifted to places like Iowa, once a leading grower of produce. That could happen again, if federal policy subsidized such crops, rather than corn, on some of that ultra-fertile land.</div><div class="" data-para-count="728" data-total-count="2342" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">California also grows alfalfa (<a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-13/cows-suck-up-more-of-california-s-water-than-almonds" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">which uses more water in total</a> than any other crop — yes, more than almonds) that <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444517304577653432417208116" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">then gets shipped to China</a>. It grows lettuce in the desert, and other crops in places that make no sense. The state has also become the biggest dairy producer in the country; at least a part of that industry would work better back east, where both water and land are available. That everyone in California needs to conserve water is a no-brainer. But a relatively small adjustment in agricultural use could make this drought look like a period of abundance. Properly managed, there is more than enough water for everything important. Improperly managed, as it has been for more than 100 years, there is a crisis.</div><div class="" data-para-count="401" data-total-count="2743" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-2" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">It won’t be easy to rationalize water use in the face of powerful water-dependent interests; though agriculture is a surprisingly minuscule part of the state’s gross domestic product, it’s a big political force. But Gov. <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/jerry_brown/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Jerry Brown." class="" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);">Jerry Brown</a> and the State Water Resources Control Board have the authority to do what it takes, as the constitution says “waste or unreasonable use” are to be prevented.</div><div class="" data-para-count="260" data-total-count="3003" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429054492037_20430"><a href="http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/board_info/water_rights_process.shtml#law" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" class="">The system is arcane</a>, allowing some people and entities to get surface water nearly free. (This system, involving “senior,” as in inherited, water rights, has never been successfully challenged.) Others, sometimes including cities, can pay 100 times more.</div><div class="" style="float: right; clear: right; margin: 0px 0px 40px 7px;"><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/opinion/making-sense-of-water.html?emc=eta1&_r=0#story-continues-3" style="; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145);">Continue reading the main story</a><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/opinion/making-sense-of-water.html?emc=eta1&_r=0#story-continues-3" style="; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145);">Continue reading the main story</a><iframe src="http://srv.dynamicyield.com/st?sec=8765344&id=April%2014%202015" width="300px" height="280px" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" frameborder="0" style="border-style: none; overflow: hidden;" class=""></iframe></div><div id="MiddleRightN" class="" style="float: right; clear: right; margin: 0px 0px 40px 7px; position: relative; min-width: 300px; min-height: 250px;"><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/opinion/making-sense-of-water.html?emc=eta1&_r=0#story-continues-3" style="; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145);" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429054492037_20403">Continue reading the main story</a><iframe frameborder="0" class="" style="border-style: none; width: 302px; height: 252px;" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429054492037_20404"></iframe></div><div class="" data-para-count="293" data-total-count="3296" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-3" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">In most areas, groundwater for landowners is “free,” as long as you can dig a well that’s deep enough. This has led to a race to the bottom: New, super-deep wells, usually drilled at great expense, are causing existing shallower wells, often owned by people with less money, to run dry.</div><div class="" data-para-count="305" data-total-count="3601" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-4" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">That’s more than unfair: Groundwater that’s built up over a millennium is being removed too rapidly to be recharged, and in some cases the land is sinking as the water-saturated layers beneath it go dry. Those layers will most likely never be replenished, making this a form of environmental suicide.</div><aside class="" data-marginalia-type="sprinkled" data-skip-to-para-id="story-continues-5" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 300px; float: right; clear: right; margin: 0px 0px 45px 7px; padding-top: 10px;"><a class="" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/opinion/making-sense-of-water.html?emc=eta1&_r=0#story-continues-5" style="; width: 1px; height: 1px; margin: -1px; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); overflow: hidden; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145);">Continue reading the main story</a><header class="" style=""><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="" style="line-height: 0; vertical-align: middle; position: relative; -webkit-transition: background-color 0.3s; transition: background-color 0.3s; width: 20px; height: 13px; background-color: rgb(135, 156, 180); border-top-left-radius: 1px; border-top-right-radius: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 1px; border-bottom-left-radius: 1px; margin: -3px 8px 0px 0px;"></span>RECENT COMMENTS</h2></header><div class="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;"><article class="" data-permid="14706841" style="margin-top: 0px;"><header class="" style=""><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; display: inline-block;">Pottree</h2> <time class="" datetime="" style="font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 5px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">4 hours ago</time></header><div class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Rarely, if ever, have I agreed so completely with an ediitorial opinion. Thanks you, MB.There is weather and climate science at work in our...</div></article><article class="" data-permid="14707574" style="margin-top: 15px;"><header class="" style=""><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; display: inline-block;">Ferrington</h2> <time class="" datetime="" style="font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 5px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">5 hours ago</time></header><div class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">I farm in California. I also raise beef and sheep for personal consumption. My wife and I produce about half of our vegetables.We use drip...</div></article><article class="" data-permid="14707070" style="margin-top: 15px;"><header class="" style=""><h2 class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; display: inline-block;">C. Davison</h2> <time class="" datetime="" style="font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 5px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">5 hours ago</time></header><div class="" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Ah, the good and bad of water. During the HUGE flood of 1955 that encompassed 2/3rds of Northern CA, men with rifles were patrolling the...</div></article></div><footer style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); padding-top: 2px;" class=""><ul class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-left: 0px;"><li class="" style="font-size: 0.625rem; line-height: 1.375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; display: inline-block; margin-right: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; cursor: pointer; color: rgb(50, 104, 145);">SEE ALL COMMENTS</li></ul></footer></aside><div class="" data-para-count="234" data-total-count="3835" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-5" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">Knowing this, Brown has announced mandatory cutbacks of an average of 25 percent in residential water use. He hasn’t said much about agriculture, but he must. He needs to see this crisis as an opportunity to rationalize the system.</div><div class="" data-para-count="231" data-total-count="4066" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">Last September, Brown signed the state’s first bill to manage groundwater; the most important groundwater basins are due to be “in balance” — that is, recharged at a sustainable rate — by 2040. That’s probably too late.</div><div class="" data-para-count="388" data-total-count="4454" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-6" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">It would be better to have a national policy preventing profit-making from public water and to encourage agriculture where it’s more naturally supported by the climate. But until that happens, Brown should challenge senior water rights, strictly regulate the pumping of groundwater, and perhaps even stop irrigation entirely on lands where growing water-intensive crops makes no sense.</div><div class="" data-para-count="189" data-total-count="4643" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429054492037_20402">When I arrived here a few months ago, an old friend who moved here in the 1980s came for dinner and scolded me for my dishwashing technique: “Turn that water off; there’s a drought.”</div><div class="" data-para-count="316" data-total-count="4959" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 532px; max-width: 540px;">I almost pointed that my use of water was trivial compared with ... well, nearly everyone else’s. But I shut up. After all, every drop really does count. Wise use and conservation — not new dams, not <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/d/desalination/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about desalination." class="" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145);">desalination</a> — are the answers, and conservation means common sense should take precedence over profiteering.</div><footer class="" style="margin-left: 135px; width: 532px; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 45px;"><div class="" style=""><div class="" style=""><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.125rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Joe Nocera is off today.</div></div><div class="" style="margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 0.9375rem; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">A version of this op-ed appears in print on April 14, 2015, on page A23 of the <span itemprop="printEdition" class="" style="">New York edition</span> with the headline: Making Sense of Water. <span class="" style="display: inline-block;"><a href="https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?contentID=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2015%2F04%2F14%2Fopinion%2Fmaking-sense-of-water.html&publisherName=The+New+York+Times&publication=nytimes.com&token=&orderBeanReset=true&postType=&wordCount=805&title=Making+Sense+of+Water&publicationDate=April+14%2C+2015&author=By%20Mark%20Bittman" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);" class="">Order Reprints</a><span class="" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 3px;">|</span> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);" class="">Today's Paper</a><span class="" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 3px;">|</span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/Multiproduct/lp839RF.html?campaignId=48JQY" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);" class="">Subscribe</a></span></div></div></footer><nav id="next-in" class="" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dotted; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); padding-top: 30px; margin-top: 45px; margin-bottom: 62px; clear: both; width: 675px;"><header class="" style="width: 165px; float: left; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;"><h2 class="" style="font-size: 1.1875rem; line-height: 1.375rem; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; letter-spacing: 0.02em;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/column/mark-bittman" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">Mark Bittman</a></h2><h3 class="" style="font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 0.875rem; font-weight: 500; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">Nutrition, agriculture and health policy.</h3><div class="" data-collection-id="column.mark-bittman" style=""></div></header></nav></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1429054492037_20409"><br></div></div></body></html>