Global warming's California impact studied

California has issued a report on the threat of global warming, detailing scientific findings and policy recommendations for reducing state emissions.

State officials say the report, mandated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, was researched by more than 30 scientists who looked at the potential affect of global warming on California's water, health, agriculture, coasts and fires.

The report concludes if global warming emissions continue unchecked, temperatures might rise 8-to-10 degrees F by the end of the century, which would lead to such consequences as:

-- Up to 90 percent of the sierra snowpack would be lost. The snowpack is a major source of California's water supply during spring and summer months;

-- A 50-percent increase in the frequency of large wildfires;

-- And dramatic changes in California's agriculture and forestry industries, as water supplies become less reliable, the productivity and quality in some crops decline due to higher temperatures and the range and frequency of pest and disease outbreaks increase.

The report also identifies methods to be used in meeting Schwarzenegger's global warming emissions reduction goal of returning to 1990 levels by 2020.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International