Climate Change

“To Be or Not to Be…” Considerations at the Intersection of Breeding Apples and Climate Change

I recently had some highly educational and thought-provoking conversations with Kate Evans, Professor of the Department of Horticulture and director of the Pome (apple and pear) Fruit Breeding Program at Washington State University. These conversations broadened my thinking on plant breeding and climate change from a focus on understanding to what extent …

Dr. Kate Evans

The ‘Carbon Market Bazaar’: Future Windfall for Producers or Just Hot Air?

I’m a fan of action movies, where a Middle Eastern bazaar is a popular place for high-speed chases. Even without the careening bullets and motorcycles, there are hints of danger and mystery amidst the clamor and unknown languages filling the air. You barter over the selling price of exotic objects that cannot be found anywhere else.

A long corridor with cathedral ceiling, vendors selling carpets and other merchandise.

Will I be able to get fries with that? A new approach for answering life’s big questions about the future of food

It’s been a long, hot, dry, fiery, smoky summer in much of the American West. That’s where the U.S. gets most of its fruits and vegetables, including two widely-consumed processed products that some might not immediately associate with this category…

Hand holding carton of french fries (left); jar of pasta sauce (right)

Would you lease your water rights? The devil is in the details

Climate change is expected to alter both the availability and demand for water. In the western United States, roughly 80% of surface water is allocated to agricultural uses, and the pressure to find more efficient ways to manage water is on, especially in drought years. Eastern Washington is no exception…

Center pivot irrigation, Eastern Washington