A: Probably not, though itâs hard to know for sure. Hexane is a volatile solvent thatâs used, with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, to extract oil from soybeans (as well as from nuts and olives).
Agriculture uses about 80 percent of Californiaâs. developed water supply. As such a large. user, it is heavily impacted by the availability. and reliability of Californiaâs water resources. Agriculture can also play an important role in. helping the state achieve a more sustainable. water future.
A full 80 percent of the water used in California goes to agriculture, Gleick points out. âFarmers know how to implement drip irrigation. Itâs not a new technology, but theyâre learning new ways to do it.â Soil-moisture monitors and smart meters also help reduce waste.âIt turns out that with the right feedback delivered in the right way, people cut their water use by 5 percent,â he says.What weâre trying to offer is a path to market,â he explains. âWe have a lot of great technology out there, it just doesnât make it to market. A lot of our work is reaching out to people who can bring new business models to the sectorâthatâs almost more important than new technology.â.