American West
Heating Nearly Twice As Fast As Rest Of World, New Analysis Shows
ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2008) -
The American West is heating up more rapidly than
the rest of the world, according to a new analysis of the most recent
federal
government temperature figures. The news is especially bad for some of the
nation's fastest growing cities, which receive water from the
drought-stricken
Colorado River. The average temperature rise in the Southwest's largest
river
basin was more than double the average global increase, likely spelling
even
more parched conditions.
"Global warming is hitting the West hard," said Theo Spencer of the
Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC). "It is already taking an economic toll
on
the
region's tourism, recreation, skiing, hunting and fi****ng activities. The
speed
of warming and mounting economic damage make clear the urgent need to
limit
global warming pollution."
For the re****t, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) analyzed
new
temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA)
for 11 western states. For the five-year period 2003-2007 the average
temperature in the Colorado River Basin, which stretches from Wyoming to
Mexico,
was 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the historical average for the 20th
Century. The temperature rise was more than twice the global average
increase of
1.0 degree during the same period. The average temperature increased 1.7
degrees
in the entire 11-state western region.
"We are seeing signs of the economic impacts throughout the West," said
study
author Stephen Saunders of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. "Since
2000
we have seen $2.7 billion in crop loss claims due to drought. Global
warming
is
harming valuable commercial salmon fisheries, reducing hunting activity
and
revenues, and threatening shorter and less profitable seasons for ski
resorts."
The Colorado River Basin is in the throes of a record drought, shrinking
water
supplies for upwards of 30 million people in fast-growing Denver,
Albuquerque,
Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego. Most of the Colorado
River's
flow
comes from melting snow in the mountains of Wyoming, Utah and Wyoming.
Climate
scientists predict even more and drier droughts in the future as hotter
temperatures reduce the snowpack and increase eva****ation.
To date, the governors of Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico,
Oregon,
Utah
and Wa****ngton have signed the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), an
agreement to
reduce global warming pollution through a market-based system, such as
cap-and-trade. The WCI calls for states to reduce their global warming
emissions
15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Conservationists say the states
should
commit to meeting these targets, and that there should also be a firm
target
of
an 80 percent reduction by 2050.
A growing chorus of leaders across the political and economic spectrum
says
more
aggressive action is needed at the national level. Sup****ters say the
Lieberman-Warner bill, "America's Climate Security Act" (S. 2191), is the
strongest global warming bill moving through Congress. The bipartisan bill
is
the first climate legislation ever to be passed out of a Senate committee.
The
full Senate is expected to vote on the bill by summer, by which time
sup****ters
are optimistic about strengthening the bill even further.
"We need strong leader****p from western senators to pass America's Climate
Security Act," said Spencer. "The longer we wait to put a concrete cap on
global
warming pollution, the greater the threat to all Americans."
The NRDC-RMCO re****t, "Warming in the West," analyzed temperature data
from
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,
Utah,
Wa****ngton and Wyoming. The re****t is available online at
http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/west/contents.asp.
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