On Apr 7, 7:39 pm, "V-for-Vendicar"
<Just...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> 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
athttp://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/west/contents.asp.
Looks like load BS designed to sup****t AGW.
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