1930s Dust Bowl photo
A new study published in the journal Communications, earth and environment says the Central Valley accounts for about 77% of total fallowed (unplanted) land in California and is associated with about 88% of major anthropogenic dust events,caused by people’s actions.Local residents are well familiar with blowing dust and this paper says it’s getting worse.
Dust can carry infectious soil-dwelling fungal spores, which cause coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) when inhaled. The Central Valley is a hotspot for coccidioidomycosis in California, where incidences have increased by 800% between 2000 and 2018, and dust exposures have been linked to increased infection risk.Previous studies showed that substantial fractions of dust deposited on Sierra Nevada snow are from the Central Valley and that the deposited dust can change snowmelt timing over the Sierra Nevada and substantially impact California’s vulnerability to water resources.
Among sources of dust emission, agricultural lands remain a key contributor, where poor management and practices can result in a substantial wind-blown dust event or even a major dust storm. For example, farming techniques and practices to conserve water over idle and dry agricultural lands were linked to increased soil erodibility and, eventually, the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s.
Furthermore, substantial wind-blown dust from agricultural lands can cause fatal highway accidents by impairing visibility, such as in California’s San Joaquin Valley in late November 1991.
Now scientists are noticing another factor that seems could lead to more dust problems. California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), instituted in 2014 to bring groundwater basins into balance in the next two decades, would require between 0.5 and 1 million acres of irrigated agricultural land to be fallowed. During dry conditions, these fallowed lands may have loose top-layer soil that, under strong surface winds, is susceptible to wind erosion, resulting in dust particles in the atmosphere An example of this connection between fallowed lands and dust activities occurred on 11 October 2021, across Stanislaus and Merced Counties, California.
” If up to 1 million acres of additional agricultural land were to be fallowed under SGMA and not transitioned to land uses that inhibit windborne soil erodibility, it could substantially increase the number of dust storms across California’s Central Valley.”
The study found that the percentage of these cropland areas fallowed between 2008 and 2022 is substantially higher in the Central Valley region than in any other region in California. This fallowed land coverage peaks at about 50% in some parts of San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley, with the largest fallowed areas occurring in Kern (918 km2), Fresno (790 km2), and Kings (663 km2) counties in San Joaquin Valley.
Overall, about 77% of all fallowed land areas in California are in the Central Valley region. Fallowed land tends to to have a higher surface temperature and particularly during drought months, has drier conditions more susceptible to wind erosion.
The Californian dust burden has a double-peak seasonal cycle, with one in the Spring (April/May) and the other in the Fall (August/September.
Between 2008 and 2022, the dust burden increased about 36% per decade of the climatological mean when averaged over the Central Valley region.
Aerosol events measured at Fresno often precede aerosol events at the other stations east of Fresno, with a higher correlation with the measurements at the Sequoia station, which is southeast of the Fresno station where dust particles build up against the Sierra.
SGMA concerns
The study found that California’s implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), could lead to increased land fallowing and exacerbate dust emissions in a region with poor air quality. Hence, while SGMA, which is crucial for long-term water security for the Central Valley, may ameliorate groundwater issues, maladaptive solutions such as widespread land fallowing and increased airborne dust may result in negative impacts on public health—including disadvantaged communities such as farmworkers.
Balancing groundwater and agricultural sustainability, as well as the well-being of both communities and ecosystem benefits, has been part of the proposed implementation central to SGMA81. Our study suggests that the potential secondary SGMA impacts of land transitions on air quality should also be considered in ongoing discussions of multi-benefit land transitions.
“While SMGA land transitions are likely to take on several forms, including the use of land for habitat and renewable energy, intentional efforts to reduce anthropogenic dust emissions (e.g., landscape restoration and cover cropping) may be needed to reduce anthropogenic dust emissions.”
Perhaps offering incentives to restore fallowed lands could benefit everyone.
Dairy industry cuts artificial colors from School Lunch products
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) has announced a new voluntary initiative to eliminate artificial colors from dairy products sold in K-12 schools. Under the “IDFA Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment,” milk, cheese, and yogurt provided through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs will no longer contain synthetic dyes such as Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 starting in the 2026–2027 school year.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins praised the move, calling it a proactive step that aligns with what consumers want. Rollins also reiterated her support for reintroducing whole milk in schools, calling this latest effort another positive step toward improving children’s nutrition.
The Environmental Working Group says three colors in particular – Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5 and Yellow Dye No. 6 – make up 90 percent of food dye used in the U.S. More than 36,000 food products sold in the U.S. contain Red 40, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Parents love to ply their kids with “healthy” snack options, and yogurt seems to fit the bill.
Artificial color is sometimes an ingredient in these snacks, though, especially in berry-flavored yogurts. But it may lurk in more unusual flavors, too, such as guava and key lime pie. Flavored low-fat yogurts can also contain as much sugar as the same volume of ice cream, sometimes more.
Other snack standbys are chips and fruit cups. But individual containers of Mott’s Applesauce Strawberry Cups are often made with artificial coloring. So are packaged items made with cherries, such as pies and cheesecake. And make sure to check ingredient labels for chips with “flaming” or “BBQ” or “hot” flavor, since these typically use dye.