“California is feeling the effects of climate change far and
wide, as heat-trapping greenhouse gases reduce spring runoff
from the Sierra Nevada, make the waters of Monterey Bay more
acidic and shorten winter chill periods required to grow fruit
and nuts in the Central Valley, a new report says.
“Though past studies have offered grim projections of a warming
planet, the report released Thursday by the California Office
of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment took an inventory of
three dozen shifts that are already happening.”
It could take a few hundred years – or even 2,000 – but the
eventual, permanent flooding of low-lying areas in Sacramento
is guaranteed if greenhouse gases are not deeply reduced,
according to new research. …
“A new study shows that the largest U.S. cities highly
threatened by future sea level rise are Miami, Virginia Beach,
Va., Jacksonville, Fla., and Sacramento.”
“As some Americans, including some in Congress, continue
questioning whether climate change exists, a group of world-class
scientists has documented its very real effects even now in
California. A report released Thursday by the state Environmental
Protection Agency makes clear the alarming threats posed by
global warming.”
“California lakes are warming, sea levels are rising, wildfires
are spreading, and mountain plants and animals are migrating to
higher ground as the impact of climate change takes hold
throughout the state, a new report says.
“The evidence of the effects of the warming trend emerged in an
analysis of 36 ‘indicators’ – warning signs of changes – that
are detailed in the 240-page report released Wednesday by the
state’s Environmental Protection Agency.”
“Rising ocean waters. Bigger and more frequent forest fires. More
brutally hot summer days. These aren’t the usual predictions
about global warming based on computer forecasts.
“The folks at Climate Central made another splash last week,
releasing lists of cities that they argue could end up at least
50 percent underwater if carbon reductions are not achieved by
certain ‘locked-in’ dates.
“Yes, Stockton’s on the list. In fact, it has the earliest
‘locked-in’ date in the entire state – the year 2051.
From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “It’s Our
Environment” blog:
“EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will host her first live
Twitter chat on climate change on Friday, August 2, at 12:30 PM
ET. Administrator McCarthy will discuss her plans for the
agency moving forward, focusing on EPA’s work to combat climate
change.
“Helping communities adapt to the changing climate and cutting
carbon pollution will be a significant part of EPA’s work over
the coming years – the Agency will play a key role in
implementing President Obama’s Climate Change Action Plan.
“In a forum convened Tuesday by the Bicameral Task Force on
Climate Change, a panel of experts on climate, wildfires, and
forestry met with task force cochairs Rep. Henry Waxman,
D-Calif., Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and other lawmakers to
discuss the impact of climate change on wildfires.”
“The idea that glaciers change at a glacial speed is increasingly
false. They are melting and retreating rapidly all over the
world. But the unpredictable flood surges at the Mendenhall
Glacier, about 14 miles from downtown Juneau, Alaska’s capital,
are turning a jog into a sprint as global temperatures and
climate variability increase.”
“Lawmakers are taking a more detailed look at the implications
[of climate change] during a Select Committee On Sea Level Rise
And The California Economy hearing assessing how rising water
will affect the agriculture, tourism and fishing industries in a
state renowned for its coastlines.”
“Democrats on Capitol Hill sought to move climate change back
to the front of the congressional agenda Thursday morning,
after a long period of inaction.
“But the testy back-and-forth at a hearing of the Senate’s
Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen.
“Fish populations off the Southern California coast have dropped
by 78 percent over the past 40 years, a new study shows, and an
author of the study says the sharp declines are most likely
caused by global warming.”
“Tackling one of the American West’s most contentious issues, a
new government report assesses the demands on Sonoma County’s
largest underground water source against a future that includes
population growth, agricultural needs and the wild card of
climate change.
“Stanford environmental scientist Katie Arkema and her colleagues
published a national map on Monday, showing where coastal reefs
and wetlands are keeping communities safe, and which areas may
need more preservation.”
“Power plants across the country are at increased risk of
temporary shutdown and reduced power generation as temperatures
and sea levels continue to rise and water becomes less available,
the Energy Department said Thursday.
“A paper published Wednesday suggests that trees in at least
some parts of the world are having to pull less water out of
the ground to achieve a given amount of growth. Some scientists
say they believe that this may be a direct response to the
rising level of carbon dioxide in the air from human emissions,
though that has not yet been proved. …
“More than 10 centuries ago, Native Americans dug canals to
bring water — the desert’s most precious resource — into their
farms and communities in the harsh climate of what’s now
Phoenix.
“Today, the 56 million Americans in the fast-growing desert
Southwest — including those in the megacities of Phoenix, Los
Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego — are faced with a challenge
beyond the region’s natural dryness: coping with an uncertain
future of man-made climate change and how it will impact their
life-sustaining supply of water.”
“Andrew Guzman and Richard Jackson spoke to the Commonwealth Club
in Lafayette last Thursday about the hazards of climate change,
heat waves and drought. … “Guzman explained that it will affect
water supplies — too much rain falling when it shouldn’t, too
little when it should.
