Climate Science and Policy

Anthropogenic climate change has raised global temperatures and thrown standard weather patterns into disarray. For the Valle de Guadalupe, an agricultural region that specializes in vitis vinifera grapes used to make wine, impacts go much further than what’s experienced above ground. Extraction from the area’s aquifer and primary water source has increased signicantly and become overexploited to meet infrastructural development demands for tourism. Natural rain-fed recharge rates have not kept up and the aquifer is experiencing a dramatic decline in water levels. Valle locals have implemented strategies to conserve and optimize water usage, but also stress the need to slow down the accelerated pace of development so it can be done sustainability and strategically. Interviews were conducted with Valle winemakers and employees to understand the issues and their perceptions of these topics rst hand. These insights are presented throughout, as well as the adaptations and ongoing work of scientists and residents who work to preserve the longevity of this region.