B. Lynn Ingram, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Berkeley:

We are on track for having the worst drought in 500 years.

James Hamblin:

Eighty-two percent of the world's almonds come from California.

Each almond requires 1.1 gallons of water to produce.

Despite the severe drought, as of June 30, California's Department of Agriculture projected that almond farmers will have their largest harvest to date.

Eduardo Porter:

Despite California's distress, about half of the homes in the capital, Sacramento, still don't have water meters, paying a flat fee no matter how much water they consume. Farmers in California's Imperial Irrigation District pay $20 per acre-foot, less than a tenth of what it can cost in San Diego. San Diego is building the nation's biggest desalination plant to produce fresh water at a cost of about $2,000 per acre-foot. But alfalfa growers in Southern California last year used hundreds of billions of gallons growing alfalfa that might fetch at best $340 a ton, or $920 per acre-foot of water.

Rory Stewart:

"It's like they're coming in and saying to you, 'I'm going to drive my car off a cliff. Should I or should I not wear a seatbelt?' And you say, 'I don't think you should drive your car off the cliff.' And they say, 'No, no, that bit's already been decided -- the question is whether to wear a seatbelt.' And you say, 'Well, you might as well wear a seatbelt.' And then they say, 'We've consulted with policy expert Rory Stewart and he says ...'"

Decius:

Sometimes the market drives off a cliff.