- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A new study out of UC Riverside projects an increase in rain and snow in California due to climate change, reported Matt Smith on Seeker.com. Anthropogenic impacts on climate are expected to produce a chronic El Niño-like weather pattern off the Pacific coast of the U.S., leading to about 12 percent more rain and snow by 2100.
The study used a newer computer model and relied on other models that have a better record of simulating precipitation and the effects of an El Niño on the state. El Niño, the cyclical warming of the Pacific Ocean near Earth's equator, typically produces warmer...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Improved soil promises to help farmers use less water and reduce carbon in the atmosphere, reported Ezra David Romero on Valley Edition, a one-hour weekly program that airs on KVPR-FM.
The five-minute story, which begins at the 30:30 mark, focuses on CDFA's new Healthy Soils Initiative. The program is expected to allocate $7.5 million for farmer incentives to use practices that will improve soil health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These are practices that are already in place on some innovative valley farmers, including two that are active...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A UC Santa Barbara study concluded that planting a home garden can cut carbon emissions to the atmosphere. However, if gardening isn't done right, it could actually contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, reported Nathanael Johnson on Grist.org.
The article looked at five factors that impacted greenhouse gas emissions in home gardens:
- Reduction of lawn area due to replacement by the garden
- Reduction of vegetables purchased from the grocery store
- Reduction in the amount of greywater sent to...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California's fresh water fish are in trouble, and not just because of the drought, reported Lori Pottinger in the Viewpoints blog published by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Pottinger asked Ted Grantham, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, whether the state's fish are adapted to periodic droughts.
Drought is one stressor, he said, but there are additional factors imperiling fish.
"California's native fish have been in steady decline for at least 50 years — in part due to dams, habitat...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Climate change gets part of the blame for the growing frequency and intensity of wildfires in the western United States, but its not the only culprit, reported Jessica Mendoza in the Christian Science Monitor. A new study by UC Cooperative Extension specialist Max Moritz and Michal Mann, assistant professor of geography at George Washington University, found that human activity explains as much about their frequency and location of fires as climate influences.
Climate change affects the severity of...