Warming Will Wipe Out Calif. Agriculture: Energy Sec.

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.)