Beginning February 1, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) customers will have a choice between purchasing fossil fuel or solar-based electrical power. According to the company’s press release, TEP plans to sell solar power created at their new 1.6-MW solar array that was built by...
In The News
California Plants Migrated Downhill Over 20th Century
January 26, 2011 |
Science
As temperatures warmed over the last several decades, scientists have observed plants adapted to cooler temperatures retreating up mountainsides around the world. These observations have been startling, as they imply that if temperatures warmed enough at the highest elevations—the mountain peaks—many of these species could go extinct, particularly on isolated...
Drought to Persist Across Southwest
January 26, 2011 |
NOAA
Drought conditions are forecasted to persist or intensify across southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas until April, according to the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook released by NOAA last week. It is also likely that drought will develop across the rest of New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. NOAA...
EPA Approves Tribal Air Quality Plan
January 26, 2011 |
U.S. EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the air quality plan drafted by the Gila River Indian Community, a reservation located just east of the Phoenix metro area in Arizona. The Gila River Indian Community’s Department of Environmental Quality has spent 12 years developing the...
2010 Tied with 2005 for Hottest Year on Record
January 19, 2011 |
NOAA
The statistics for 2010 are finally in. According to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, average global temperature for 2010—a combination of both land and ocean temperature measurements—matched average global temperature from 2005, making both years the hottest recorded since 1880. 2010 did beat out 2005...
Snowpack Down in NM, Up in the Sierras
January 19, 2011 |
Las Cruces Sun and Sacramento Bee
This winter’s La Niña has been keeping the storm track north of much of New Mexico, leading to reduced winter precipitation in the southern and eastern parts of the state. The Las Cruces Sun reports that snowpack is below average in the Rio Hondo Basin, Sacramento Mountains, and Capitan Mountains, even though a...
Earth is Getting Dustier
January 19, 2011 |
ScienceDaily
New research presented at last month’s American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting by Natalie Mahowald suggests that it’s been getting dustier worldwide since the 1800s. According to ScienceDaily, Mahowald and her collaborators combined records of past dust from ice cores, sediments, and corals with a climate...
House Republicans Propose to Cut EPA’s Regulating Power
January 19, 2011 |
ClimateBiz.com
Republican representatives proposed three different bills last week aimed at limiting the power of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. According to...
Oil Shale Development Could Impact SW Water Supplies
January 19, 2011 |
U.S. GAO
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, extracting oil from large oil shale deposits in the Southwest—specifically Utah and Colorado--could strain the state’s water supplies. This conclusion is based on a report, “Energy-Water Nexus: A Better and Coordinated Understanding of Water Resources Could Help...
Water Managers to Climate Researchers: This Is What We Need
January 14, 2011 |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, together with the U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have collaborated on a series of reports to address how to incorporate climate change science into water planning. A 2009 report, Climate Change and Water Resources Management: A Federal...