2020: Visions for the Central Valley

California's Central Valley is undergoing immense change. A dramatically expanding population is encroaching on some of the world's richest farmland, putting increasing strain on water, clean air, roadways, and health. What must the Valley do to create a livable, perhaps even abundant future? In 2009, the Great Valley Center of Modesto convened a conference to envision what it would take to make a more sustainable Valley by the year 2020.

2020: Visions for the Central Valley features transcripts of five keynote speeches given at this conference. L. Hunter Lovins, founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions in Colorado discusses issues of sustainable development. The Honorable Quentin Kopp, chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority, lays out a design for future transportation. A. G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, discusses how Valley agriculture fits into the future of the world. Jeff Mount, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis, addresses issues of rising sea levels, flooding, and urbanization. Finally, Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician at the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care at UC Davis, advocates a grassroots, community-based approach to future health care. A list of resources and questions to facilitate discussion and strategic planning are provided at the end of every speech.

For the Great Valley, the stakes are enormously high and while all of these five speakers point out serious challenges and discouraging concerns, they are also deeply optimistic that any action taken today will lead the Great Valley toward a better future.