Blog: A few lessons for California’s new drought
We asked some colleagues for lessons that might be useful in managing the California’s new drought. Here is a first sampling of thoughts. … Katrina Jessoe. Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Davis: Climate models indicate that California’s droughts will become more frequent and severe. Warming temperatures will further reduce surface water availability, by increasing evaporation from soil, reservoirs, and irrigated land. While reductions in surface water supplies will be costly to agriculture, residential users and the environment, these costs could be substantially reduced through the reallocation of scarce supplies. Supplying water to those who value it most will not eliminate the costs of drought, but will make them less painful.