New Mexico

The debate over the causes of climate change continues to rage, but federal, state and tribal agencies aren't waiting around for the argument to be settled. They believe climate change is here, and they're working on ways to help wildlife, land and communities adapt.

Coal-fired power plants that generate electricity and provide hundreds of jobs in New Mexico also produce the most greenhouse-gas emissions in the state, according to reports from the utilities to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Posted by Melissa Lamberton | on December 08, 2011
When thousands of acres burned across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas last summer, firefighters and forest managers faced a more formidable foe than just smoke and flames. Research suggests that Southwestern wildfires are becoming bigger and fiercer in response to the two-headed hydra of higher temperatures and abundant fuel. In both cases, humans have a hand in creating ecosystems ready to go up in flames, but making management decisions to reverse the trend may not be so easy.

Cap-and-trade opponents claim oil and gas prospectors are shunning the state, citing uncertainty.

Posted by Zack Guido | on October 31, 2011
The 2011 Water Year in Review is a summary of the information presented in the Southwest Climate Outlook between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2011. The water year is a standard period of measurement used in hydrology because the natural seasonal ground recharge and discharge cycles are more aligned with the October-September period than the calendar year due to precipitation and evaporation. This review highlights precipitation, temperature, reservoir levels, drought, wildfire, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions.

Climate change is real, and a panel of physicists at a public forum said that to ignore it is to increase the chances of a global catastrophe.

October 13, 2011 - December 29, 2011 | Web | Event Web site

With La Niña strengthening drought conditions will likely persist and intensify in some regions, combining with widespread extreme and exceptional drought to increase drought impacts.  To stay informed of drought, climate, and impacts information, you are invited to a join webinars (web-based seminar) every other week to di

The timing of aspen leaf changes and other natural events such as pollination, bird nesting and animal mating are all important to scientists studying climate change. Citizens can help scientists track the events by recording observations of aspens and 299 other plant and animal species through the USA National Phenology Network.

Posted by Zack Guido | on September 21, 2011
Raging fires, mile-high walls of dust, bone-dry drought, and pipe-bursting freezes wreaked havoc across the Southwest this year. By the end of August, drought and fires alone cost New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and other western states more than $5 billion, which does not include the recent blazes that destroyed more than 1,000 of houses in Texas. Ten disasters across the country have cost more than $1 billion already this year, breaking the previous record of nine set in 2008, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In fact, CNN dubbed 2011 the year of billion-dollar disasters (August 20).

Posted by Zack Guido Mike Crimmins | on September 07, 2011
Blame it on La Niña. Pushing the jet stream and the storms it carried north of the region, La Niña played a starring role in a record-dry winter in the Southwest this past year. The lack of rain and snow led to extensive fires in Arizona and New Mexico, skimpy irrigation allotments, and withered vegetation in the spring. Now mounting evidence suggests that after a brief summer hiatus La Niña may be back.