President Obama Spotlights UC Davis As Climate Hub For Farmers

DAVIS (CBS13) — President Barack Obama announced seven new climate hubs to help farmers and ranchers, and UC Davis will play a key role.

So what exactly are climate hubs?

Mark Schwartz runs the John Muir Institute at UC Davis focusing on how weather affects everything from farming to forest fires.

"I think it's a huge impact," he said. "I think it's something that's on everybody's mind."

During his speech about the drought, the president said seven locations across the country will research the weather's long-term impact on society.

Schwartz tells us he will lead one of the hubs where experts will take current and future research directly to farmers to try and help them plan for an uncertain weather future.

"When you think about long-term forecasting and the probability of a major drought," he said, 'that's where we really come into play."

He says the big part of being named a climate hub isn't just doing research, but getting that research into the right hands where it can make a difference whether it's for water storage or how we use rivers.