Two co-founders of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC-Davis “calculate that the chances of another winter with below-average precipitation to be nearly three in four” for California, says the science blog at KQED in San Francisco. Jay Lund tells the public broadcaster, “There’s a good chance that if you’re in a dry year this year, you’ll be in a dry year next year.” California is in the third year of drought.
In another item on its science blog, KQED describes how the drought has dried up business for bee keepers and food for their colonies. “Honey production in the state varies considerably from year to year, but in a drought year it typically gets cut by about half,” says the blog. It quotes Gene Brandi, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, as saying, “I think the honey production in California will likely be one of the lowest levels we’ve seen in a long time.”