Nov 13 2009

Climate Changes

Posted by: Kory Raftery

Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:

Former Vice President Al Gore stumped for sustainable construction practices at the annual U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) annual convention in Phoenix. Gore said "building green" would stimulate job growth and cut the nation's dependency on foreign oil. He also noted that environmental endeavors could land the U.S. roughly 2.5 million jobs in the next few years and urged Americans to lean on their lawmakers in order to make a difference when it comes to energy efficiency and the fight against global warming. "It's important to change the lights and the windows, but it's also important to change the laws and policies," he said.

A British television commercial continues to come under fire for what some are calling global warming scare tactics. Entitled "Bedtime Stories," the commercial shows a father reading his daughter a book about a "land where the weather was very strange." The story features a "CO2 monster" and animals drowning due to widespread flooding. Opponents feel the commercial is too scary for children and question whether the appeal to parental instincts will even work. Supporters say research shows 74 percent of people surveyed would change their behaviors and conserve energy if they believed climate change would have an adverse affect on their children.

A new report published by Environment and Energy Daily claims that global warming could have a negative impact on the water supply of the American West, with Las Vegas and Southern California being hit extremely hard should the water level in the Lake Mead reservoir continue to drop. Currently, the Hoover Dam supplies power and water to 17 U.S. states and Mexico but the water level behind the dam is at its lowest point since 1965, when officials diverted Colorado River flows into the newly constructed Lake Powell. One suggested cause is that a warming climate is more quickly evaporating the snow that feeds the Colorado River. If the water supply continues to drop, the impact could be huge. As Patricia Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority noted, "When you put it in perspective, the Colorado River soon will be servicing 30 million people. It also serves one of the most productive agricultural areas in the country in terms of winter fruits and vegetables, an integral part of the country's food supply."

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