Warming Will Wipe Out Calif. Agriculture: Energy Sec.

Top US producer faces disaster without swift action on climate change
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 4, 2009 11:35 AM CST
Warming Will Wipe Out Calif. Agriculture: Energy Sec.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu.   (AP Photo)

Energy Secretary Steven Chu sees dire effects of global warming, particularly on his home state of California, he tells the Los Angeles Times. Some 90% of the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a vital storehouse for water used in farming and cultivation, could disappear, he said. “We’re looking at a scenario where there’s no more agriculture in California,” Chu said.

“I don’t think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen,” Chu continued. A study last year estimated the state has $2.5 trillion in real estate, including farmland, endangered by warming. Critics called Chu’s warning far-fetched. “Computer model predictions of the year 2100 are simply not evidence of a looming climate catastrophe,” said GOP Sen. James Inhofe. (More Steven Chu stories.)

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