Tag Archive for: Global Warming

100 Years After Compact, Colorado River Nearing Crisis Point

/in , , /by /Associated Pressby Chris Outcalt and Brittany Peterson

The intensifying crisis facing the Colorado River amounts to what is fundamentally a math problem.

The 40 million people who depend on the river to fill up a glass of water at the dinner table or wash their clothes or grow food across millions of acres use significantly more each year than actually flows through the banks of the Colorado.

In fact, first sliced up 100 years ago in a document known as the Colorado River Compact, the calculation of who gets what amount of that water may never have been balanced.

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‘Clairvoyant’ 2012 Climate Report Warned of Extreme Weather

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Seth Borenstein

Record high temperatures in urban Europe as heat waves bake the planet more often. Devastating floods, some in poorer unprepared areas. Increasing destruction from hurricanes. Drought and famine in poorer parts of Africa as dry spells worsen across the globe. Wild weather worldwide getting stronger and more frequent, resulting “in unprecedented extremes.”

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Rains, Mudslides Prompt Southern California Evacuations

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Stephanie Dazio

Thousands of residents were under evacuation and shelter-in-place orders early Tuesday after heavy rains unleashed mudslides in a mountain area east of Los Angeles that burned two years ago, sending boulders and other debris across roads.

Firefighters went street by street in the community of Forest Falls Monday night to make sure no residents were trapped. Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said crews hadn’t found anyone who needed to be rescued and no one was reported missing. Crews would canvas the neighborhoods again and begin cleanup efforts after sunrise, he said.

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Carlsbad Desal Plant Water Output Cut 20% to Conserve Power Amid Heat Wave

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

Water production at the Carlsbad desalination plan has been temporarily reduced to conserve power while the heat wave stresses California’s electric grid.

The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which can produce up to 50 million gallons per day, typically accounts for about 1% of peak electricity demand in San Diego Gas & Electric’s service area.

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California’s Climate Makes It Especially Vulnerable to Global Warming

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Soumya Karlamangla

The allure of California has long been its almost unbelievably good weather: predictably dry summers and pleasant, if occasionally rainy, winters. Who wouldn’t want to escape swampy heat for this temperate paradise? Our typically agreeable weather (current heat wave notwithstanding) is officially called a Mediterranean-type climate, defined as having cool, wet winters and dry, warm summers.

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Dangerous Heat Predicted to Hit 3 Times More Often in Future

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Seth Borenstein

What’s considered officially “dangerous heat” in coming decades will probably hit much of the world at least three times more often as climate change worsens, according to a new study.

In much of Earth’s wealthy mid-latitudes, spiking temperatures and humidity that feel like 103 degrees or higher — now an occasional summer shock — statistically should happen 20 to 50 times a year by mid-century, said a study Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

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What If It’s Too Warm to Snow? Water Managers Across the West Need to Adapt, Report Says

/in , , /by /Arizona Republicby Lindsey Botts

Arizona and the West could see their water supplies drop by as much as 30% by the middle of the century as warmer temperatures lead to less snowfall, reducing runoff into rivers and reservoirs, changing vegetation cover and altering wildlife habitat.

Those are the findings of a team of researchers led by Erica R. Siirila-Woodburn and Alan M. Rhoades at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who published a paper looking at the likelihood of a “low-to-no snow” future. Their analysis, published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, also estimates when and where to expect the effects of a low-to-no snow climate disaster.

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‘Snow Drought’ is Threatening the Western US, and That Could Become a Massive Problem

/in , /by /Science Alertby Carly Cassella

The western United States has built their water infrastructure on a melting foundation, and unless we do something about global warming, scientists worry the consequences will be catastrophic.

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Billions for Climate Protection Fuel New Debate: Who Deserves It Most

/in , /by /New York Timesby Christopher Flavelle

The new infrastructure law signed by President Biden includes almost $50 billion to protect communities against climate change, the largest such investment in United States history and a recognition that the effects of warming are outpacing America’s ability to cope.

Mr. Biden has insisted that at least 40 percent of the benefits of federal climate spending will reach underserved places, which tend to be low-income, rural, communities of color, or some combination of the three.

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White House Launches Climate Initiatives to Arm Communities Against Floods, Extreme Weather

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Kasha Patel

The White House announced Tuesday that it would work to revise building standards for flood-prone communities across the country in the face of climate change, while launching tools to make climate information more accessible to the public.

The move is part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to push the United States to reckon with the costs of global warming by factoring in the long-term consequences of decisions being made today.
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