Snow Pack Reduction Pt 3
I’m Bob Larson. The loss of our mountain snow pack will be very gradual, and something we can adapt to. University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences professor Cliff Mass says our 2015 drought taught us that we can survive low snow pack …MASS … “2015, we had the end of the world happen here. And, 2015, that’s what the end of the century is going to be like, okay. The average year in 2080 or 2070, is going to be like 2015, okay. If we keep on doing what we’re doing in terms of greenhouse gases.”
So, Mass believes farmers can make a different climate work …
MASS … “Agriculture got through 2015 without, you know, U.S. Agriculture Department, you know, they suggested that actually farm income didn’t go down that year in the state, right. So, I mean, some crops were damaged, but prices went up and things were okay.”
And, Mass says farmers survived 2015 without warning …
MASS … “Without making any adaptations, and the adaptations can be more reservoirs and dams, as people are calling for, dealing with the senior and junior water rights issue, using the water we have more efficiently, and then also the crop mix. There’s some crops that do not need a lot of water, you know. Some high-value crops, we can use the water for that, and maybe a little bit less water for hay and spraying all over the air like we do around Ellensburg.”
Mass says so relax, we’re not all going to perish in 10 years like many would have you to believe.