“It’s burning differently. It’s burning more aggressive than it has in years past. And I know we say that every year, but it’s unprecedented.” Vice: Thousands of firefighters are battling unprecedented fatal wildfires in California. By Alissa Greenberg and Jason Wilson in Redding, for The Guardian, Tue 31 Jul 2018 Homes destroyed by the Carr fire in Redding, California. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Roger Gray …
Sinking land, poisoned water: the dark side of California’s mega farms
The floor of the Central Valley is slumping, and there is arsenic in the tap water. Now it seems the two problems are connected. By Alissa Greenberg in Lanare, California, for The Guardian, Wed 18 Jul 2018 Farm fields along the path of the California aqueduct in the Central Valley, a region that produces a quarter of the nation’s food. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters …
Warmest May ever in the US, and temps 3 degrees F (1.7 C) over the 20th century average in June. 30% of states in drought. 401st consecutive month with above avg temps worldwide
By Christie Aschwanden, in Five Thirty Eight, July 19, 2018 A man cools off in the spray of a fire hydrant during a heatwave in Philadelphia this month. JESSICA KOURKOUNIS / GETTY IMAGES It’s only July, but it has already been a long, hot spring and summer. The contiguous U.S. endured the warmest May ever recorded, and in June, the average temperature was 1.7 degrees Celsius (3.0 …
Ranchers in Divide County, North Dakota, rely on the rain. Last year the rains and crops failed, and the temperature shot up, but Did It Change Minds on Climate Change?
July 17, 2018, By Meera Subramanian, Inside Climate News DIVIDE COUNTY, North Dakota — I walk in the front door of Byron Carter’s house as others are entering in the back, and Koda the dog can’t decide which way to direct her barking. I’m in Divide County, North Dakota, but borders seem a little meaningless here. Last summer’s drought, which was calamitous for …
Roots of Prosperity: The Economics and Finance of Restoring Land
by Helen Ding, Sofia Faruqi, Andrew Wu, Juan-Carlos Altamirano, Andrés Anchondo Ortega, René Zamora Cristaless This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the benefits and costs of restoring forests and landscapes in countries around the world, demonstrating how smart policies and innovative financing can help governments meet their restoration targets. The authors find that finance, both public and private, for restoration is inadequate for seven reasons, …
Surviving drought: Herbivores help protect ecosystems from climate change
Plant-eating critters are the key ingredient to helping ecosystems survive global warming, finds new UBC research that offers some hope for a defence strategy against climate change. “The herbivores created space for other plants and animals to move in and we saw much more diversity and variety in these ecosystems,” said Rebecca Kordas, the lead author of the study who …
Reduced rainfall in the SW through late summer and fall, and in the longterm, due to climate disruption
ScienceDaily 18 Oct 2017 excerpt …Results highlight the possibility of a strong precipitation reduction in the northern edge of the monsoon in the southwestern US in response to warming, with consequences for regional water resources, agriculture and ecosystems. “Monsoon rains are critical for the southwest U.S. and northwest Mexico, yet the fate of the North American monsoon is quite uncertain,” …
Increasing droughts, lower crop yields (just 40% already in Utah and forecast to go to 10%), and increased stress and conflict
A new study by MIT climate scientists, economists, and agriculture experts finds that certain hotspots in the country will experience severe reductions in crop yields by 2050, due to climate change’s impact on irrigation. The most adversely affected region, according to the researchers, will be the Southwest. Already a water-stressed part of the country, this region is projected to experience …