[kevinpet]

There's no problem with residential water use in Phoenix. There are still farms that could be shut down if water is needed.

The biggest problem seems to be parochial NIMBYs. People don't like that TSMC needed to bring in Taiwanese workers to staff up the plant. They are currently posting AI generated renderings of factories with billowing smoke stacks when talking about the proposed Amkor semiconductor packaging plant in Peoria.

[umanwizard]

It’s also worth nothing that the TSMC plant is basically as far north as it’s possible to be while still counting as part of the (huge) Phoenix metro area. The vast majority of the 5 million residents of that metro area are nowhere near the plant and very unlikely to be affected by it in any way.

[unixhero]

As long as they don't have two microwaves in their household*

* humor

[therein]

[flagged]

[mywittyname]

At least the fabs can recycle the majority of their water. Unlike farms which use more than is needed and are likely producing animal feed for international animals.

I get your point, but not all farms are created equal. Is it really so bad to shut down farms that grow feed for Arab race horses to produce computer chips?

[awongh]

Arizona and California have outdated water management laws that basically mean that big agriculture gets free water.

Until recently Saudi Arabia was using these laws to grow alfalfa in the desert.

In California, water intensive crops like almond trees get free water.

https://youtu.be/XusyNT_k-1c

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/climate/arizona-saudi-ara...

[alphager]

The US is a major food exporter with a supply around 125%. Shutting down a few farms in the desert seems worthwhile.

[csallen]

This is an extremely over-simplified take. It depends on entirely on what the farms are producing, their water efficiency, etc. Nobody would seriously suggest that people go hungry so that we can have more chips, so responding as if that's the actual suggestion is unwarranted.

[pstuart]

A fair amount of that farm water is to grow alfalfa for the Saudi's dairy industry. So it's not all essential to US food security...

[shiroiushi]

The place is a desert. Growing crops in a desert takes a lot of water, as you might imagine. A smarter thing to do is to not try to grow crops in a desert where it needs so much irrigation. The US has plenty of non-desert land for growing essential crops.

[mtoner23]

theres not exactly a lack of food in this country

[gosub100]

> Who needs food when you have 4nm chips.

Who needs logic and reason when you have false dichotomy?

[x3n0ph3n3]

We don't need farms in Phoenix. Farming in the middle of the desert where there's already limited water is pretty stupid.

[zaik]

20 dollars? I wanted a peanut!

[bcrosby95]

Lots of the farms exist to provide year around salad. What is more important, year around salad or computer chips? Economically, for Arizona, the answer is pretty clear.

This is also why I laugh when people in wet areas talk crap about my state's water problem. My state's problem is your problem too buddy.

[Apes]

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