Posts Tagged: jobs

Solve economy, wildfires woes at same time

Forest restoration would be one way to improve our economy, writes researcher Tong Wu of the Center for Forestry and UC Berkeley on CNN's Global Public Square news website. He states that human interference has "made many ecosystems unnaturally susceptible to catastrophic wildfires" and that global warming will exacerbate the problem.

"In economic analyses of environmental management projects across the western United States, ecological restoration produced multiplier effects (the economic 'bang for the buck' of every dollar spent) that were higher than the estimated impacts of the 2009 government stimulus," he wrote.

Farm revenues down just 3 percent due to water losses

The most recent estimates of job losses due to cuts in water allocations from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are far lower than was first predicted, according to an article published last week in the Contra Costa Times.

In early 2009, UC Davis economist Richard Howitt predicted the drought and new restrictions on Delta pumping would cost 95,000 jobs, but he revised the figure downward a number of times. Even though, the old number is still sometimes used, recently by Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, the article said.

"Yes, it's a problem when candidates don't use the most recent and accurate figures," Howitt said in an e-mail to reporter Mike Taugher. "I have tried to correct this, but this combined report should help put some of the outdated values to rest."

Current estimates of lost farm revenue in agriculture because of water shortages are $340 million (by Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of Pacific) and $370 million (by Howitt). In both cases, that represents a less than 3 percent decline in San Joaquin Valley farm revenues. Job losses are estimated to be between 5,500 and 7,500 jobs.

ANR specialist on USDA jobs panel

UC ANR specialist Dave Campbell, the director of the UC California Communities Program, will take part in the USDA's video forum about rural unemployment tomorrow, which will be broadcast at 19 USDA sites around California, according to the Central Valley Business Times. Curiously, the Times publicized the video forum, but it is not open to the public.

Input from a series of nearly 40 local jobs forums (that were open to the public) held across California this week will be summarized for a final report at the video conference. The local jobs forums, listed here, end today.

"By concluding with a statewide videoconference, we hope to concentrate the focus on the best ideas to retain and create rural jobs, and share them with the Administration," Glenda Humiston, state director of USDA Rural Development, was quoted in the story. "Jobs agencies and public officials can lay the groundwork for economic growth, but the best ideas for continued growth and job creation often come from the community."

The video forum will be presented at 2 p.m. at the following USDA offices:

Alturas   Auburn Bakersfield  Bishop Davis

El Centro  Elk Grove  Eureka Fresno Indio

Merced Modesto Moreno Valley  Oroville Redding

Salinas Santa Maria Santa Rosa Visalia Yreka

Good job outlook attracts students to ag schools

The Associated Press this morning reported that enrollment in agriculture schools across the nation is growing, even though the number of farms tumbles.

Reporter David Mercer provided statistics from a survey of ag schools by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Enrollment in bachelor's degree programs in agriculture, the survey said, increased 21.8 percent from 2005 to 2008, from about 58,300 students to nearly 71,000.

The story gave specific information about the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, noting that in 2009 more than 5,490 students are enrolled in agricultural majors — a jump of 210 from a year earlier.

"I think that young people are recognizing all of the issues that surround our society that have to do with food, and I think there's a real interest in new ways of doing things and solving some of these problems," the story quoted Diane Ullman, a UC Davis associate dean for undergraduate academic programs.

A Monsanto spokesman told the reporter the company finds it hard to recruit people educated in science, in particular, because they "tend to get snatched up by medical and health care-related things." He said Monsanto has openings for 100 researchers at its headquarters in St. Louis.

A Texas A & M spokesman said every one of the university's poultry science graduates averaged five job offers.

UC Davis ag student

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