- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Last Friday, the Associated Press picked up and ran with the climate change stories in the current issue of California Agriculture journal. Reporter Tracie Cone opened her widely published article with the prediction that rising temperatures could make pears, peaches, pistachios and other crops that need winter chill unsuitable for California farms, and others crops would suffer lower yields.
Cone went on to write that articles in California Agriculture "predict temperatures in California will increase by 7 degrees Fahrenheit by...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Coincidentally, two news releases were distributed yesterday with information from UC Ag and Natural Resources about climate change.
One news release announces the current issue of California Agriculture journal, which is devoted to news and research on climate change and how it will alter California’s environment and landscape, agriculture and food quality. The cover of the magazine says climate change is "unequivocal," a word pulled from the 2007 report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
I can't resist a story that places any good light on climate change. It gives me hope for my children and children's children. One example, covered by the Times Online of the United Kingdom a few years ago, was a report that residents of Greenland will now be able to grow their own vegetables, rather than import everything from Europe, because of warmer, shorter winters.
A second story on climate change the involves a bit of good news for California appeared in the Stockton Record last week. The story said efforts to battle...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
UC Davis genetic resources analyst Adi Damania responded in a letter to the Woodland Daily Democrat to an article on global warming published in the same newspaper by another UC Davis researcher.
The original article, summarized in this blog entry, provided details of a new report about the projected impact of global warming on Yolo County agriculture.
Damania made the point that plant genetics may be the ticket to maintaining a viable agriculture industry in a warmer climate with less rain. Adapting to global warming, he wrote, "will require a change...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
UC scientists have outlined specific changes to Yolo County agriculture expected over the next 50 years because of global climate change. A preview of the scientific report appeared in an article in the Woodland Daily Democrat by UC Davis Cooperative Extension plant physiologist Louise Jackson.
According to the article, some likely effects of global warming in Yolo County are:
-
Warm-season horticultural crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn and peppers) will be less viable, encouraging a shift to hot-season crops such as melon and sweet potato.
-
Grains will benefit very slightly...
