Drought In San Joaquin Valley

Words: 1501
Pages: 7
Open Document
In recent years, a historic drought has ravaged California’s agricultural production. The effects of this event have been felt hardest in areas such as the San Joaquin Valley, and this area’s grape industry is one that has been particularly hurt by this. The decline of grape production and therefore grape-related revenue in the San Joaquin Valley has had big negative effects, and if we do not do something to conserve water soon or find a new water source, things will only get worse for the area’s economic prospects. Before talking about the grape industry in particular, it is important to establish the main causes of the drought itself. Perhaps the largest cause is the simplest one: a tremendous lack of rain. As far as precipitation goes, …show more content…
In May of 2007, a Federal District Court Judge ruled that increased amounts of water had to be re-allocated towards protecting the Delta smelt, an endangered fish in California rivers. “Because of this ruling, in 2009 and 2010 more than 300 billion gallons of water were diverted away from farmers in the Central Valley and into the San Francisco Bay (Committee on Natural Resources).” The “fish versus farmers” argument is one that has been going on for decades, and it has pitted farmers against environmentalists. This is an interesting an extremely controversial argument, and no matter how one looks at it there is no distinctly correct answer; the only thing that both sides can agree on is that we need more …show more content…
This is very much something that people think we might be forced to resort to in the future. However, now might be a better time than ever to get this project started. Recently, a desalination plant was opened in San Diego for about $1 billion (Rogers). With the current technology being used, this plant and others like it will simply not produce enough water to make it worth the cost. Scientists should keep working toward making this process more efficient, because if they are ever able to find a way to desalinate water at a reasonable cost, it is feasible that water supply will no longer be a major
Show More

Related Documents: Drought In San Joaquin Valley

California Drought Research Paper

that occur in California such as the drought, is negatively affecting California. “Water, California, and Conflict” showed a timeline of frequent droughts from the year 1850 to 2000. The timeline explains that the droughts in California occur frequently, so it is possible California will be able to escape the drought in time. California may escape the drought, but California is currently in a terrible situation. With the drought, the agriculture of San Joaquin Valley is decreasing. Another chart was…

Words 381 - Pages 2

San Joaquin Kit Foxes Research Paper

Even with its tiny body and humongous ears, San Joaquin kit foxes are, nevertheless, intriguing animals. Inhabiting the San Joaquin Valley in Central California, these kit foxes were very common before the twentieth century. However, over the last 85 years, their population has declined 33%, classifying them as endangered species. To begin, San Joaquin kit foxes have unique physical features and habits. They are no larger than the average housecat and have enormous ears, which help them radiate…

Words 715 - Pages 3

A Brief Note On A Look At Life

under an ecologically sensitive river delta east of San Francisco Bay. The tunnels, each as wide as a two-lane interstate highway, would ship water more reliably from northern California to thirsty farms and cities in the south. They would also bolster the ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is on the verge of collapse from feeding water to 25 million people and 750,000 acres (304,000 hectares) of farmland. The drought, which officials say could be one of the worst in California’s…

Words 680 - Pages 3

Term Paper Impact and Solution for California Drought Issue

Zhao Yueru FINC 311 Professor Sommers January 27, 2015 Hidden under the Drought: Financial Impact and Price Solution for California Drought Issue In 2014, the world has focused on the state of California. Not because it has the most advanced agriculture in America, not because it owns some of the most developed industries, but because in this year, California’s warmest year on record was born. Dry weather is not a new thing to this state, but the width and profundity of effect followed by the heat…

Words 2191 - Pages 9

john wp 2 Essay

beautiful Golden State known as California. The issues vary vastly, from the on going drought, poverty, educational problems, health care, environmental problems, jobs, unemployment rates, and so on. This list can go on. Aside of all these issues, California has been struggling with one specific issue which is our air quality and pollution. To narrow it down even more, this issue is huge here in our central valley of California. The devastating part is that out of the top ten most polluted cities in…

Words 1570 - Pages 7

the settin of east of eden Essay

significant amount about the motifs in a story. John Steinbeck, the author of East of Eden, was born in the Salinas Valley of California. Naturalism is a prevalent theme in his books. In East of Eden Steinbeck chooses the setting of the Salinas Valley because he uses it as a constant representation of the conflict between good and evil. The Salinas Valley is west of the San Joaquin Valley and east of Monterey Bay in central California. It follows the Salinas River northwest to its mouth at Monterey…

Words 832 - Pages 4

The California Drought

The California Drought and its Effects California is now in the fourth year of a record breaking drought. Although there are certain measures being made to mitigate the problem, the California drought is greatly affecting certain industries, such as agriculture and water utilities. Anyone living in California already has an idea of what is going on because anywhere you go, there are signs telling people to regulate water use. Some cities even passed new laws prohibiting citizens from using a certain…

Words 1375 - Pages 6

Black Tuesday Causes

combination of economic depression, a long drought, unusually high temperatures, poor agricultural practices, and wind erosion caused the Dust Bowl. (Trimarchi) It lasted from about five to ten years, depending on the location. These storms mostly affected the American Great Plains region, including Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Strategies were taken to bring the Dust Bowl to an end. One of the biggest factors was the end of the drought in the late 1930s. This brought much…

Words 1461 - Pages 6

Implications: Climate Change, Water, And Agriculture

Climate Change, Water, and Agriculture Implications A Special Focus on California Abstract Water affects every area of life, and given the ever-decreasing water resources, due to many factors including climate change, it is important to conserve water. This has many implications, including socio-economic implications. An example of the impact is on agricultural production, and as such food production. Hence, the goal of this paper is to point out, as shown clearly in various scientific…

Words 6029 - Pages 25

Geology 4 Essay

Groundwater The most abundant supply of readilyavailable fresh water Some photos in this presentation may be copyrighted. Well, shiver me timbers! We gets to study groundwater! Groundwater is the largest reservoir (94%) of fresh water readily available to humans. It is used for: Pivot point Wheels driven by motors These circular fields are irrigated by center pivot irrigation systems as shown in the inset above. GROUNDWATER: Our largest source of readily available fresh water. The #1…

Words 3456 - Pages 14