Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Fresno's Environement

Well, living in the Central Valley of California is fun for food lovers. One can get farm fresh vegetables from the local farmers market almost every day. You can grow your own vegetables without much effort in your backyard and of course all the organic farmers and CSAs such as TD Willey Farm are there in the central valley of California. One can also be close to the mountains... you can hike to the Giant Redwoods and Yosemite or any other parts of Sierras at any time during the week or weekends. However, all of these come with a price - price that you pay for your health! San Joaquin Valley's air quality is one of the worst in the Nation. Asthma, allergies and other health issues that can cause by the air pollution are in the rise. The population growth in Cental valley is projected to be highest in the state in next few years. On the other hand, central valley is host of many endemic species of flora and fauna. California is one the 17 "Biodiversity Hotspots" of the world. The Tulley Elk and San joaquin Kit foxes are few to name.

What can we do? What should we do? What can we learn? How can we cope with the growth and natural environment? We also worry about global environmental issues on growth, pollutions, natural resource use and overuse, global warming. These are some of the issues we discuss in the class. This Blog is about discussion in the Natural Science 115 class.

2 comments:

Mary Scott said...

Some people in Fresno are trying to make a difference, which is definately good.

Fresno’s Groundwater Recharge Program

Surface water is currently used to replace lost groundwater through the City’s artificial recharge program at the City-owned Leaky Acres and smaller facilities in Southeast Fresno. In addition, Fresno Irrigation District (FID) and Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District (FMFCD), also play a critical role in our water supply through their partnership with the City. During the summer and fall the City’s surface water entitlement is delivered via canals by FID to the FMFCD recharge basins located throughout the urban area where it percolates through the soil to replenish groundwater. The City is working with its regional partners to fully utilize the sites already developed and is developing new sites such as a recharge basin in southeast Fresno.

Flood irrigation of surface water applied to surrounding farmlands is also a vital source of groundwater recharge. As agricultural land is converted to urban use, total water consumption within the region actually drops, but the recharge impact of deep percolation from flood irrigation is lost. Identifying sites for additional groundwater recharge is essential to keeping our water supplies balanced.(www.fresno.gov)

Marla said...

Water shortage or water re-routing? Click below: