- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Climate change models predict more fires for the tinder-dry Western United States and high latitudes where carbon-rich peat soil will burn under extremely warm weather conditions. But some parts of the world will see less fire due to climate change, reported the New York Times.
That is because global climate models largely agree that areas near the Equator will see more precipitation with climate change, according to Max Moritz, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
So far, the impact of climate change on San Joaquin County hasn't been apparent, reported Reed Fujii in the Stockton Record.
The story said Paul Verdegaal, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County, has been tracking local crop and weather data for 30 years and to date has seen only normal year-to-year variability.
"There's no particular trend in early bud break (in vineyards); there's no particular change in earlier harvest," Verdegaal said. "I haven't seen any hint of a trend, let alone a consistent pattern of increase or decrease."
Bud break, the point when...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Drought, population growth and salty soils are problems that may cause worldwide food shortages in the coming decades, reported Edward Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee.
These are problems that will be addressed by scientists and policymakers at the Climate-Smart Agriculture Global Science Conference at UC Davis this week.
For the story, Ortiz interviewed Eduardo Blumwald, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, one of the conference speakers. Blumwald believes many of the problems of world food production...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
KQED and the Center for Investigative Reporting co-produced a documentary about the impacts of climate change on California food production. A half-hour in length, "Heat and Harvest" has three distinct segments:
- Cherries, said reporter Mark Schapiro, are the canary in the climate coalmine for California tree crops. "They're highly sensitive to changes in temperature and rainfall, which scientists say are being altered by climate change," he said.
The segment included comments from Joe Grant, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County.
He said California cherry...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
In a search for new varieties of peaches, plums and nectarines, no stone is left unturned, reported Robert Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee.
The story centered around Kingsburg Orchards, one of the largest local tree fruit producers. The organization's board met recently to sample 30 experimental stone fruit varieties.
Kevin Day, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Tulare County, said the push to find an edge in the marketplace is no surprise in today's highly competitive retail market.
"People are doing anything they can for product differentiation, including having exclusive...