Editing Imperial County, California (section)

==Economy==
Thousands of acres of prime farmland have transformed the desert into one of the most productive farming regions in California with an annual crop production of over $1 billion. Agriculture is the largest industry in Imperial County and accounts for 48% of all employment.<ref name="elcentrochamber"/> Although this region is a desert, with high temperatures and low average rainfall of {{convert|3|in}} per year, the economy is heavily based on agriculture due to [[irrigation]], which is supplied wholly from the [[Colorado River]] via the [[All-American Canal]].<ref name = "iid"/>

[[File:20210515180516 IMG 2448 Canal Imperial Valley.jpg|thumb|Irrigation Canal Imperial County]]

A vast system of [[canal]]s, check dams, and pipelines carry the water all over the valley, a system which forms the [[Imperial Irrigation District]], or IID. The water distribution system includes over {{convert|1,400|mi|km}} of canal and with {{convert|1,100|mi|km}} of pipeline.<ref name = "water trans"/> The number of canal and pipeline branches number roughly over a hundred. Imported water and a long growing season allow two crop cycles each year, and the Imperial Valley is a major source of winter fruits and vegetables, [[cotton]], and grain for U.S. and international markets. [[Alfalfa]] is another major crop produced in the Imperial Valley.<ref>{{cite report |date= 2017|title= Field Seeds, Grass Seeds, Forage, Hay, and Silage: 2017 and 2012 |publisher=US Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service |url= https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_County_Level/California/st06_2_0026_0026.pdf |page=8 |access-date=April 20, 2023}}</ref> The agricultural lands are served by a constructed agricultural drain system, which conveys [[surface runoff]] and subsurface drainage from fields to the [[Salton Sea]], which is a designated repository for agricultural runoff.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iid.com/index.php |title=IID |access-date=August 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603111125/http://www.iid.com/index.php |archive-date=June 3, 2009}}</ref> Imperial County produces nearly 2/3 of all vegetables consumed by Americans during the winter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Quick Facts About Imperial County Agriculture |url=http://www.co.imperial.ca.us/AirPollution/Forms%20&%20Documents/AGRICULTURE/QuickFactsAboutIVag.pdf |website=Imperial County Farm Bureau |access-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-date=February 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218232545/http://www.co.imperial.ca.us/AirPollution/Forms%20%26%20Documents/AGRICULTURE/QuickFactsAboutIVag.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[El Centro]] is the commercial center of Imperial County. Fifty percent of the jobs in El Centro come from the service and retail sector.<ref name="elcentrochamber">{{cite web|url=http://www.elcentrochamber.org/the-city-of-el-centro/community/ |title=El Centro Chamber of Commerce |access-date=August 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103174411/http://elcentrochamber.org/the-city-of-el-centro/community/ |archive-date=November 3, 2010 }}</ref>

A recent growth in the interest of Imperial County as a filming location, has spurred growth in servicing this industry.<ref name="elcentrochamber"/> Because of the county's desert environment and proximity to [[Los Angeles, California]], movies are sometimes filmed in the sand dunes outside the agricultural portions of the county. These have included ''Return of the Jedi'', ''[[Stargate]]'', ''[[The Scorpion King]]'', and ''[[Into the Wild (film)|Into the Wild]]''. Additionally, portions of the 2005 film ''[[Jarhead (film)|Jarhead]]'' were filmed here because of its similarity to the desert terrain of [[Iraq]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}

In 2016, Imperial County had the highest unemployment rate of any county in the United States, at 23.5%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Labor Force Data by County, 2016 Annual Averages |url=https://www.bls.gov/lau/#cntyaa |access-date=September 8, 2017 |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}}</ref>

Cotton in Imperial County and [[Riverside County, California|Riverside]] is predominantly [[Bt cotton]].<ref name="Reduc-Pesti" />{{rp|page=Supplemental}} This is in contrast to the rest of the state, which largely relies on non-incorporated [[pesticide]]s.<ref name="Reduc-Pesti" />{{rp|page=Supplemental}} The introduction of Bt cotton has dramatically reduced [[pesticide application|pesticide use]] here.<ref name="Reduc-Pesti">{{cite journal | year=2003 | issue=1 | volume=41 | publisher=[[Annual Reviews (publisher)|Annual Reviews]] | journal=[[Annual Review of Phytopathology]] | issn=0066-4286 | first2=Susan | first1=Lynn | last1=Epstein | last2=Bassein | title=Patterns of Pesticide Use in California and The Implications for Strategies for Reduction of Pesticides | doi=10.1146/annurev.phyto.41.052002.095612 | pages=351–375 | pmid=14527333| bibcode=2003AnRvP..41..351E }}</ref>{{rp|page=Supplemental}}

===Renewable energy===
Imperial Valley has become a hotbed of renewable energy projects, both solar and geothermal.<ref name=npr>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102679730 "Calif. Desert Becomes Home For Renewable Energy"], Rob Schmitz, ''[[Morning Edition]]'', April 3, 2009, [[NPR]]</ref> This is driven in part by California's mandate to generate 20% of its power from renewable sources by the end of 2010, the valley's excellent sun resources, the high unemployment, its proximity to large population centers on the coast, and large tracts of otherwise unusable desert land.<ref name=npr/> Much of the land suitable for green energy is owned by the federal government ([[Bureau of Land Management]]). As of April 2008, the BLM has received 163 applications to build renewable energy projects on {{convert|1600000|acre|km2|sigfig=2}} in California. Almost all of these are planned for the Imperial Valley and the desert region north of the valley.<ref name=npr/> Stirling Energy is currently building one of the world's largest [[solar thermal]] plants, {{convert|10|sqmi|km2|sigfig=2}} with 38,000 "sun catchers," it will power up to 600,000 homes once it is fully operational by around 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olson |first=Syanne |date=February 18, 2011 |title=AES Solar buys Tessera Solar's Imperial Valley project with intent to turn CSP into PV |url=https://www.pv-tech.org/aes_solar_buys_tessera_solars_imperial_valley_project_with_intent_to_turn_c/ |access-date=January 29, 2024 |work=PV Tech |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=npr/> CalEnergy runs a geothermal plant that generates enough power for 300,000 homes and could tap into more for up to 2.5 million homes.<ref name=npr/>