Mid-level forests in the western U.S.—at about 6,500 to 8,000 feet—will be particularly sensitive to higher temperatures due to climate change, according to a new study published in Nature Geoscience. Using observations and satellite data, the authors compared vegetation greenness with snow...
In The News
Mid-Elevation Forests Particularly Vulnerable to Climate Change
September 13, 2012 |
Nature Geoscience
Warm, Dry Conditions Persist Across Much of the SW
September 13, 2012 |
NOAA
Temperatures across the U.S. were 1.6 degrees F above average in August, according to the latest State of the Climate from NOAA. Every state in the Southwest except Texas saw temperatures among their ten warmest, with Nevada tying its previous warmest August on record set in 1934....
Fires Still Blaze Across the West
September 7, 2012 |
National Interagency Fire Center
So far this year, almost eight million acres have burned across the nation, more than any other year-to-date and almost three million acres more than the 10-year average, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. As drought conditions persist, fire activity is still high across the western...
CA Heat Waves Becoming More Coastal, Humid
September 7, 2012 |
Geophysical Research Letters
Observations show that climate change is increasing the number of daytime heat waves, however a new study soon to be published in Geophysical Research Letters found that in California, humid nighttime heat waves and heat waves near the coast will intensify more with climate change than dry daytime and desert heat...
Climate Change Impact on Global Food Prices Underestimated
September 7, 2012 |
Oxfam
Existing research on how climate change will affect global food prices does not take account of extreme weather events and thus significantly underestimates potential impacts, according to a new report by Oxfam. The authors of the report modeled the impact...
Melting Sea Ice Amplifies Global Warming
September 7, 2012 |
National Snow and Ice Data Center
Last week Arctic sea ice reached its smallest extent since record keeping began in 1979 and has now dropped below 1.54 million square miles, with at least one week still left in the melt season, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. This broke the previous record low of 1.61 million square...
CA Tests Cap-and-Trade Program
August 31, 2012 |
San Francisco Gate
California’s cap-and-trade program—a market designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing emitting companies to buy and sell credits in order to stay below the emissions limit set by the government—is set to begin in November. In order to prepare companies for what they will be dealing with in the future, the...
New Standards Boost Fuel Efficiency by 2025
August 31, 2012 |
EPA
New fuel economy standards finalized this week by the Obama administration will nearly double the fuel efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks to 54.5 mpg by 2025, according to the EPA. By 2025, the standards will result in an estimated savings to consumers...
Climate Change to Force Species, Ecosystem Migrations
August 31, 2012 |
USDA/Forest Service/Rocky Mountain Research Station
Climate change impacts on landscapes will force many species and ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin, including piñon and juniper woodlands, to migrate to find new suitable habitat by the end of the century. In the future, the majority of landscapes will likely have climates that are incompatible with the vegetation currently inhabiting them, forcing species to move to...
NPS’s Influential Leopold Report Updated
August 31, 2012 |
National Park Service
Nearly 50 years ago, a special advisory board commissioned by Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall produced the highly cited and influential “Leopold Report” recommending goals, policies, and methods, for the National Park Service to manage both visitors and wildlife on its lands. Now, a new 12-member...