Chu: Global warming could end California agriculture, cities

by Emily Gertz · 2009-02-04 17:32:00 UTC
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In his his first interview since taking office, Energy Secretary Steven Chu didn't hold back on what's at stake for California if the nation doesn't act to stop global warming: vanishing vineyards, fading farms, and major cities abandoned.

Why so dire? Because some of the anticipated impacts of climate change include water shortages in the Upper Midwest and West, which could decimate California's agricultural production -- the largest in the nation. One worst case scenario he described would have 90% of the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range -- one of the state's major storehouses of fresh water -- disappearing as global temperatures rise.

His talk with the Los Angeles Times echoed two recent reports -- one, released in January, projected global crop shortages as a result of climate change. A study last year by UC Berkeley researchers suggested that about $2.5 trillion of the state's real estate is at risk, including land used for agriculture.

"I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," Chu said. "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California...I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going," either.

So what will he do about this as Secretary of Energy? Chu wants to see:

  • Public education on global warming;

  • Billons of dollars invested in alternative energy research and infrastructure;

  • A national standard for electricity generated from renewable sources;

  • Cap-and-trade legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

He said the threat of warming is keeping policymakers focused on alternatives to fossil fuel, even though gasoline prices have fallen over the last six months from historic highs. But he said public awareness needs to catch up. He compared the situation to a family buying an old house and being told by an inspector that it must pay a hefty sum to rewire it or risk an electrical fire that could burn everything down.

"I'm hoping that the American people will wake up," Chu said, and pay the cost of rewiring.

Video: Steven Chu at the National Clean Energy Summit convened by the University of Nevada Las Vegas, in the summer of 2008.

Emily Gertz
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