If global carbon emissions can be kept to less than 55 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year (GtCO2e/yr) by 2020, the 2°C (3.6°F) global warming target, determined as the maximum increase that would still permit dangerous climate change to be avoided, could be met relatively inexpensively, according to a...
In The News
Greater Short-Term Emissions Reductions Give Greater Long-Term Climate Protection
December 21, 2012 |
Nature Climate Change
2012 Set for Warmest Year on Record
December 14, 2012 |
NOAA
Unless December temperatures in the U.S. are over 1.0 degree F colder than the coldest December on record, 2012 will go down as the warmest year on record for the nation, according to the November State of the Climate from NOAA. So far this year, the national temperature was 3.3 degrees F above average, with 18 states—...
Demand to Exceed Supply in CO River Basin Over Next 50 Years
December 14, 2012 |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
By 2060, demand for water in the Colorado River Basin is projected to exceed supply by about 3.2 million acre-feet (maf)—a measure of water in which one acre-foot is the amount of water that would fill one acre to a depth of one foot. This is according to a new report just released by the U.S....
California A Net Importer of Water
December 14, 2012 |
Pacific Institute
California uses approximately 20 trillion gallons (64 million acre feet) of water per year through direct uses, such as watering gardens and drinking, and indirect uses, such as the water used to produce goods (food, clothes, beverages, etc.) that are either used within the state or exported for use elsewhere, according to a new...
Warm Winters Costing Winter Tourism Industry Millions
December 14, 2012 |
NRDC/Protect Our Winters
From November 1999 to April 2010, the downhill ski resort industry lost an estimated $1.07 billion in revenue between high and low snow fall years, according to a new report by two nonprofit groups, the National Resources...
Invasive Cheatgrass Changing Fire Activity
December 7, 2012 |
Global Change Biology
Cheatgrass, an invasive grass in the western U.S., has substantially altered the fire regime in the Great Basin region since 1980, according to a recent study published in ...
Commission Finds CA Energy Policies at Risk of Failure
December 7, 2012 |
Little Hoover Commission
California’s energy transition—from a system powered by fossil fuels to one with one-third of the supply coming from renewable energy sources—while ambitious, is at risk of a policy failure if certain concerns outlined in a new report by the Little Hoover Commission aren’t addressed. These...
Western Ecosystems Could Increase Carbon, Greenhouse-Gas Storage
December 7, 2012 |
USGS
A new assessment report by the USGS, the second in a series, found that ecosystems in the western U.S. were a net carbon sink between the years 2001 and 2005, meaning they took up carbon equivalent to 4.9 percent of the nation’s 2010 net fossil-fuel emissions. The authors of the report project that by 2050, these...
UCLA Outlines LA’s Sustainability Goals
December 7, 2012 |
UCLA
If Los Angeles could eliminate coal from its mix of energy sources, implement a myriad of measures including increasing the efficiency of natural gas-fired power plants, and ensure all residents have access to sustainable transportation options, the city could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 30 percent below 1990 levels. This is just one set of recommendations for one target—...
Winter Outlook Grim for AZ, NM
November 30, 2012 |
CLIMAS
Warm temperatures and dry conditions prevailed across Arizona and New Mexico last month, according to the November Southwest Climate Outlook from CLIMAS. Over the last 30 days, temperatures in some parts of New Mexico reached over 5 degrees F above normal, and only a small portion of the state experienced average...