California
drought: Strong El Niño, which could bring soaking winter storms, fizzling out
[San Jose Mercury News]
A
powerful El Niño that had been emerging in the Pacific Ocean is fizzling out,
evaporating hopes it will deliver a knockout punch to California's three-year
drought. A new report from scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration decreases the probability of an El Niño -- the condition that
occurs when warm Pacific Ocean water at the equator affects the jet stream --
to 65 percent starting in October, down from 82 percent in June. More
significantly, researchers said, the ocean water that had been warming steadily
through the spring has cooled off in recent months. Most of the world's leading
meteorological organizations now say that if an El Niño arrives this winter, it
is likely to be a weak or moderate one -- not the kind historically linked with
wetter-than-normal winters in California.
Commentary: California's
invisible reservoirs [San Francisco Chronicle]
…As
this drought drags on, calls are growing to enlarge existing reservoirs or
build new ones. Storage will become even more important in the face of climate
change if our snowpack shrinks and droughts grow more frequent and longer.
Although new surface storage will sometimes be beneficial, cost and
environmental impacts frequently will preclude this option. California needs to
give greater attention to the cheaper but less visible option of storing water
under our very feet. Groundwater storage enjoys a variety of advantages over
surface reservoirs. A study by Stanford's Water in the West program found that
recharging groundwater is typically much cheaper than surface water storage or
desalination….Groundwater storage is not a panacea. Recharging groundwater,
which often involves spreading water in surface ponds and letting it percolate
down to the aquifer, is much slower than adding water to surface reservoirs.
Extracting water from aquifers is also slower and requires significant amounts
of energy. On balance, however, the advantages of groundwater storage are
enormous.
Columbia
man charged with starting Rim fire [Modesto Bee]
Federal
prosecutors on Thursday announced that they have charged a 32-year-old Columbia
man with starting the Rim fire, which grew to consume more than 250,000 acres
last year. A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Keith
Matthew Emerald, 32, with starting the fire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s
Office in Sacramento. Authorities say that on Aug. 17, Emerald kindled a fire
in the Stanislaus National Forest and allowed it to spread beyond his control.
At the time, temporary restrictions were in place that prohibited fires. In
addition, Emerald is charged with lying to a federal agent when he said he did
not set the fire.
U.S.
almond growers say 'nuts!' to Russian import limits [Reuters]
With
Russia pitting itself against the United States, the European Union and other
major trading partners with bans on agricultural imports, an outsized share of
the trade dispute is falling where Vladimir Putin may never have expected: On
the almond growers of central California. Almonds are the top agricultural
export to Russia from the Golden State, followed by pistachios, rice, prunes
and wine. Last year, California exported $102.4 million worth of the nuts to
Russia, making it the eighth largest foreign market. Nationwide, almonds rank
third among farm products exported to Russia, behind chicken and cattle. Before
U.S. trade friction with Russia started rising early this year, California nut
growers had big plans for Russia--a market the world's largest almond
processor, Blue Diamond Growers, first cracked in 1968.
The
GMO fight ripples down the food chain [Wall Street Journal]
…Two
decades after the first genetically engineered seeds were sold commercially in
the U.S., genetically modified organisms—the crops grown from such seeds—are
the norm in the American diet, used to make ingredients in about 80% of
packaged food, according to industry estimates. Now an intensifying
campaign, spearheaded by consumer and environmental advocacy groups like Green
America, is causing a small but growing number of mainstream food makers to
jettison genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. In addition to Ben &
Jerry's, a subsidiary of Unilever ULVR.LN -0.66% PLC, General Mills Inc. GIS
+0.86% this year started selling its original flavor Cheerios without
GMOs…."Non-GMO" is one of the fastest-growing label trends on U.S.
food packages, with sales of such items growing 28% last year to about $3
billion, according to market-research firm Nielsen….The anti-GMO backlash
reflects the deep skepticism that has taken root among many U.S. consumers
toward the food industry and, in particular, its use of technology.
Opinion: Legislature ducking
debate on big fuel price hike [Sacramento Bee]
When
the Legislature adjourns this month, it will likely leave Assembly Bill 69
still sitting in the Senate Rules Committee, thereby avoiding an election-year
debate on whether California motorists should cough up billions of extra
dollars when they buy gas. The measure, introduced by Assemblyman Henry Perea,
D-Fresno, and backed by quite a few other Democrats, would delay putting fuel
under the state’s cap-and-trade system of reducing greenhouse gases….Given the
heavy financial impact of placing fuel under the cap-and-trade program, it
should face legislative scrutiny and direct up-or-down votes, rather than being
imposed by an unelected board.
Ag
Today is distributed by the CFBF Communications/News Division to county Farm
Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes; stories may
not be republished without permission. Some story links may require site
registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this
message and please provide your name and e-mail address. For more
information about Ag Today, contact 916-561-5550 or news@cfbf.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment