The long-term effects of global warming may bode bad news for the San Joaquin Valley, according to climate models and climatologists.

Current problems, such as shortage of water, might be exacerbated by the change in climate. Already, some parts of the valley, especially south of Fresno, receive only eight inches of rain every year. That is why farmers and ranchers depend on the Sierra Nevada snow pack to make up for it.

But, with the changing climate, the Sierras may not be as dependable. This isn't good news for the state's $32 billion agricultural business. Easily the most productive land in the world, the San Joaquin Valley contributes almost half of the United State's fruit and vegetable supply. San Joaquin County, for example, ranks fifth in overall agriculture production in the US.

“As citizens of the Earth, we need to open our eyes and recognize the stinging realities of how greenhouse gas emissions and globalwarming are affecting our society and our economy,” said Dr. Laura Rademacher, a professor in Pacific’s Department of Geosciences.

While the southern San Joaquin Valley may experience a shortage of water, the opposite would be true for the north part of the valley. A consequence of global warming, rising sea levels would be a threat to Stockton, Sacramento, and other areas near the Delta. Stockton rests at sea level and will likely be flooded. Salty seawater would also be pushed farther inland, affecting agriculture that depends on fresh water from the mountains.

“Warmer temperatures predicted for California as a result of global warming will also likely lead to further decreases in air quality,” said Rademacher. The San Joaquin Valley already rivals major cities like Los Angeles and Houston in poor air quality.

Seeing the future difficulties, state leaders are beginning to act on legislation to curb emissions.

Just last month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reached a major breakthrough with the California Legislature on the issue of global warming. The bill makes California the first state to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The governor signed the bill into law Wednesday.

To raise awareness of the threat of global warming, University of the Pacific will be holding a two-week Stewards of the Earth campaign.

“Every student at Pacific can play an integral role in addressing the problem of global warming through minor, but powerful changes in everyday behaviors,” Rademacher said. She encourages students to make a conscious effort to recycle bottles, cans, newspapers, and cardboard. Replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones and reducing the amount of driving students do can also make a difference, Rademacher added.

“We need to make changes that will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Rademacher. “Period.”

 
Editor’s Note: Later this semester, The Pacifican will be featuring a comprehensive story on the effects of global warming and what people are doing about it. This will highlight the various problems of the San Joaquin Valley such as air quality and water shortages. It will also detail the solutions being presented to address these situations.

Comments (9)

	1. 12:47PM 09-28-2006
	One of the causes of global warming might actually be an increase in the amount of rainfall due to more water vapor in the air. The sierras may no longer have snow melt late into summer, but an increase in rainfall could make up for this. Not that this is necessarily a good thing. Guest

	2. 01:30PM 09-28-2006
	no snow melt would be awesome.. skiing year round. i skiied on july 2nd this year at mammoth, it was wonderful! Guest

	3. 03:03PM 09-28-2006
	No, not as much snow because it would be warmer... no snow melt because there wouldn't be very much snow to melt. Guest

	4. 03:50PM 09-28-2006
	NATURAL SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING In the year 1905, Nobel physicist, Albert Einstein, published his E=mc˛ EQUATION, which opened the door to THE WORLD OF THE PROTON GENIE, the door to all of the abundant energy that Earth will ever need. But, nobody looked or listened except the Energy Cartel, which stood to loose its enormous wealth and power if Einstein's EQUATION should ever become implemented.    Many have attempted to implement Einstein's EQUATION, but even the most promising successful efforts are routinely thwarted.     In brief review, “E=mc˛” provides the basis for extracting and fusing PROTONS from ordinary, pure water, which will ultimately make everybody on Earth so idly rich and content from the benefits of this clean, virtually-free, and inexhaustible energy supply that nobody should ever again have to worry about pollution, war, or poverty, and Mother Nature will once again regain total control of any Climate Changes.    The Atomic Doomsday Clock reads, "7 minutes until Doomsday, and counting!"    Is it too late? Or, will some ordinary, individual Tinkerer (maybe just an average high school student) rise to the occasion and construct a simple physical demonstration of Einstein’s EQUATION so that the entire World Population can become enlightened to the prospect of a new future of peace, contentment, and prosperity? Anything less will fail to uncork the PROTON GENIE for the benefit of mankind because "The Special Energy Interests" have sufficient resources to block any individual efforts to provide Cheap Power.     Please encourage your correspondents to link to this blog, and help spread Einstein's great-inspired VISION, "A Free-Energy Paradise On Earth."    http://howtosavecivilization.blogspot.com/ Guest

robertmacelvain

	5. 08:43PM 09-28-2006
	NATURAL SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING ITS ABOUT TIME YOU TOLD THE REST OF THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME IS LEFT. Guest

ITS ABOUT TIME YOU TOLD THE RE

	6. 12:52AM 09-29-2006
	Abrupt climate change imminent GCMs (global climate models) are bias toward linear gradual changes. Instead, ice cores tell us that climate change happens abruptly, not gradually. Soon the earth will reset it's thermostat 10C upwards. We will suddenly be facing a hotter dryer climate that caused mass extinctions in the past.    With a growing population, and increased energy use, dramatic cuts in emissions are unlikely. Instead, I suggest removing the CO2 from the air after it has been emitted. Nature already does this, but we are overwhelming her ability to cope.    A warming earth will start emitting far more greenhouse gas than humans. Carbon sinks will become carbon emitters big time. This is called runaway global warming, and this catastrophic chain reaction has happened many times in the past, and resulted in massive extinctions. Guest

Brad Arnold

	7. 12:20PM 09-29-2006
	Abrupt climate change imminent Brad, where are you getting these facts? If you are going to state "facts" you need to cite your sources or at least links or else people will just take it as the opinion of a non-expert, which is what this sounds like anyway.     Robert, a fusion generator has been made and they are working on others. So far they haven't been able to get more power out of the generator than they are putting into it. We are still a long way from performing sustained, efficient fusion power generators. A lot of money and research is being done in this area. Guest

Richmond

	8. 12:45PM 09-30-2006
	Abrupt climate change imminent How about starting with obeying speed limits, turning of truck and bus speed limiters on to 60 mph, and initiating a speed limit of 40 mph for subways. Guest

Al Roffey

	9. 09:26AM 10-04-2006
	Abrupt climate change imminent I hope you take the time to examine both sides of this issue. You can start here: http://www.climatechangeissues.com/files/PDF/conf05mckitrick.pdf Guest

Chris

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