Haywire: Alfalfa uses a fouth of California irrigation water-but makes up less than 1 percent of its economy. It's one of the most water-intensive crops-but it's grown in the desert.(Brief Article) From: OnEarth | Date: January 1, 2002| Author: Holing, Dwight | COPYRIGHT 2002 Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

California's deserts are like dreams. Scorching temperatures, lack of rain, and lunar-like landscapes help conjure up images as eerie and ephemeral as something from the subconscious. A sand dune takes on the appearance of a snowdrift. An oasis floats on the horizon, ever so realistic, ever out of reach. But of all these surrealistic scenes, surely the most bizarre is a dusty desert valley, half the size of Rhode Island, tilled and planted and green as a Wisconsin farm. It's no fat...