Tag Archive for: Climate Change

Humans’ Impact On the Earth Began a New Epoch in the 1950s Called the Anthropocene, Scientists Say

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Seth Borenstein

From climate change to species loss and pollution, humans have etched their impact on the Earth with such strength and permanence since the middle of the 20th century that a special team of scientists says a new geologic epoch began then.

Called the Anthropocene — and derived from the Greek terms for “human” and “new” — this epoch started sometime between 1950 and 1954, according to the scientists. While there is evidence worldwide that captures the impact of burning fossil fuels, detonating nuclear weapons and dumping fertilizers and plastics on land and in waterways, the scientists are proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada — Crawford Lake — to place a historic marker.

Full Story

Newsom Signs Bills to Speed up Infrastructure Projects

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Service by Natalie Hanson

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills Monday aimed at streamlining the construction of solar and wind farms, reservoirs, bridges, railways and other infrastructure projects in the Golden State.

Full Story

Deadly Flooding is Hitting Several Countries at Once. Scientists Say This Will Only Be More Common

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Isabella O'Malley, Brittany Peterson, and Drew Costley

Schools in New Delhi were forced to close Monday after heavy monsoon rains battered the Indian capital, with landslides and flash floods killing at least 15 people over the last three days. Farther north, the overflowing Beas River swept vehicles downstream as it flooded neighborhoods. In Japan, torrential rain pounded the southwest, causing floods and mudslides that left two people dead and at least six others missing Monday.

Full Story

Meet the Colorado River’s Newest – and Youngest – Power Player

/in , , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager

California’s Imperial Valley is one of the few places where a 95 degree day can be described as unseasonably cool.

In the shade of a sissoo tree, with a dry breeze rustling its leaves, JB Hamby called the weather “pretty nice” for mid-June. Over his shoulder, sprinklers ticked away over a field of onions. Every few minutes, a tractor rumbled across the broiling asphalt of a nearby road.

Hamby is a water policy bigwig, especially around these parts. He helps shape policies that define how water is used by arguably the most influential water users along the Colorado River. Hamby holds two jobs – he serves on the board of directors for the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and was recently appointed to be California’s top water negotiator.

And he’s only 27 years old.

Full Story

Northwest Drinking Water Concerns Could Get Worse as the Climate Changes

/in , , /by /Northwest News Networkby Courtney Flatt

Thunderstorms high in the Cascades recently stirred up a lot of dirt in a central Washington river, causing problems for people on its banks.

All the dirt in the Naches River was too much for the city of Yakima’s water treatment plant to handle. Cities and towns could see situations like this happen more often as the climate continues to change.

Climate change will cause more storm runoff, change when snowpack melts and lead to more severe wildfires and harmful algal blooms, said Amanda Hohner. She studies how post-wildfire runoff affects drinking water treatment plants.

“At least in the Western U.S., the effects of wildfire and also climate change are really starting to challenge drinking water treatment plants, resulting in different water quality than maybe those water treatment plants were designed for,” Hohner said.

Full Story

World Hits Record Land, Sea Temperatures as Climate Change Fuels 2023 Extremes

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by Reuters

The target of keeping long-term global warming within 2.7 Fahrenheit is moving out of reach, climate experts say, with nations failing to set more ambitious goals despite months of record-breaking heat on land and sea.

As envoys gathered in Bonn in early June to prepare for this year’s annual climate talks in November, average global surface air temperatures were more than 2.7F above pre-industrial levels for several days, the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service said.

Though mean temperatures had temporarily breached the 2.7F threshold before, this was the first time they had done so in the northern hemisphere summer that starts on June 1. Sea temperatures also broke April and May records.

“We’ve run out of time because change takes time,” said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climatologist at Australia’s University of New South Wales.

Full Story

Is Seawater Desalination Right for California?

/in , , /by /WaterWorldby Erik Desormeaux

With an unclear future for the state’s freshwater sources, California’s interest in seawater desalination continues to grow. Support for desalination in California is growing. Currently, California has 12 seawater desalination facilities, but only two are of a significant size. Although a key state agency has recently approved plans for two more moderate size facilities, the perception of seawater desalination in the state is quite poor and project proposals face a steep uphill battle.

Full Story

Imperial Valley Farmers Brace for Potential Water Cuts

/in , , /by /Spectrum Newsby Jeremy Lindenfeld

During Mark McBroom’s 40 years of farming in the Imperial Valley, he’s had to adapt to changing climate conditions and water availability. After California, Arizona and Nevada came to an agreement in May to reduce their Colorado River water usage, McBroom may soon have to adapt again. Imperial County is the driest in California, only getting 2 to 3 inches of rainfall every year. So, farmers in the region get the vast majority of their water from the Colorado River.

Full Story

Expect a Hot, Smoky Summer in Much of America. Here’s Why You’d Better Get Used to It

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

The only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly, forecasters say. And then the smoke will likely come back to the Midwest and East.

Full Story

Warming Causes More Extreme Rain, Not Snow, Over Mountains. Scientists Say That’s a Problem

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Seth Borenstein

A warming world is transforming some major snowfalls into extreme rain over mountains instead, somehow worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year as well as long-term water shortages, a new study found.

Using rain and snow measurements since 1950 and computer simulations for future climate, scientists calculated that for every degree Fahrenheit the world warms, extreme rainfall at higher elevation increases by 8.3% (15% for every degree Celsius), according to a study in Wednesday’s journal Nature.

Heavy rain in mountains causes a lot more problems than big snow, including flooding, landslides and erosion, scientists said. And the rain isn’t conveniently stored away like snowpack that can recharge reservoirs in spring and summer.

Full Story