Growth in demand for almond milk may be affecting California’s drought

California’s current drought is one of the worst ever seen in the state’s history, according to a recent study by UC-Davis.  In the story, published here, it points out that California produces 80 percent of the world’s almonds and that it takes 1.1 gallons of water to produce each almond.  Because of the lack of surface water, almond growers are turning to groundwater to irrigate their almond trees.  But in the long term this may be counter-productive, since groundwater cannot be easily restored.  Groundwater pumping is currently unregulated in California, so no one knows how much water is being withdrawn and how much is remaining.  This may cause problems if the drought continues for several years, as has happened in the past.    This has caused some recent discussion in the popular press about the climatological impacts of drinking almond milk, including articles in Mother Jones and Grist.