- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When people don't think about the impact of their decision-making on others, it can ultimately lead to tragedy - the tragedy of the commons, said UC Agriculture and Natural Resources researcher Mark Lubell during an interview on Jefferson Public Radio. Lubell, director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior at UC Davis, studies human decision-making in the context of the environment.
"People think about what happens on their private land and make their private decisions, but they don't think about how their private decisions affect others," Lubell said. "You see this all...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A news reporter from the Sacramento ABC affiliate interviewed UC Davis environmental toxicology professor Ron Tjeerdema yesterday about his role in the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Tjeerdema and a team of experts are advising the federal government about abating the environmental disaster.
The story (a minute and 18 seconds long) appears on the TV station's website. In it, Tjeerdema explains that officials are using a dishwashing liquid-like material to disperse the oil.
"It takes oil off the surface so it's less capable of oiling beaches and wildlife," Tjeerdema...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein fanned a controversy earlier this month when she said she would propose legislation urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to raise the valley's water deliveries. Her idea was hailed by West Side growers and farmworkers - who say they are suffering economically because of short water supplies - and criticized by environmentalists and many of her fellow democrats - who believe the water is needed to protect delta smelt and salmon.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times bolstered the environmentalists' position with an article that said agriculture's reported economic difficulties have been...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A few news stories published recently typify UC Cooperative Extension's hand on a diversity of environmental issues in California.
Methyl bromide
The California Farm Bureau's newspaper AgAlert includes a story about research efforts aimed at helping strawberry farmers grow a successful crop in the wake of regulations that severely limit the use of the fumigant methyl bromide.
The story says UCCE soils and water specialist Husein Ajwa have had some success in reducing fumigant emissions either by applying the material through buried irrigation drip lines or by using a more effective...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
In honor of Earth Day, a UC Davis Cooperative Extension veterinary specialist, John Maas, sent a letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle asking the public to remember the "original environmentalists," cattle ranchers.
"California's ranchers manage more than 20 million acres of private land. They pay taxes, raise cattle, and protect wildlife in a sustainable manner. These are the green hills and mountain meadows you drive by on your travels," Maas wrote.
Maas...
