Drought has stranglehold on U.S. West

By Andrew Freedman and Daniel Yawitz29 March 2013 (Climate News Network) – The extended drought continues to choke the Western half of the country, with water supply concerns rising in New Mexico and Texas as anxiety about another bone-dry summer is raised. This week, the dryness grew worse in Texas while expanding into California, Montana, […]

Colony collapse disorder expanded drastically in 2012 – Bee death rate ‘much higher than it’s ever been’

By MICHAEL WINES28 March 2013 BAKERSFIELD, California (The New York Times) – A mysterious malady that has been killing honeybees en masse for several years appears to have expanded drastically in the last year, commercial beekeepers say, wiping out 40 percent or even 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate many of the nation’s […]

California has driest January and February on record, Sierra snowpack below normal – ‘It’s going to have some dire effects for those folks in the Central Valley that were thinking they will be able to plant’

By Amy Quinton28 February 2013 (California Capital Network) – California has officially shattered an all-time record for the driest January and February in the northern Sierra since record-keeping began in 1921. This year, the area has received only 2.3 inches of precipitation. The northern Sierra is crucial in providing statewide water supplies because snow melt […]

Graph of the Day: Trends in average U.S. winter temperatures, 1970-2012

21 February 2013 (Climate Central) – While the U.S. as a whole has seen a warming trend that has raised annual average temperatures by 1.3°F over the past 100 years, warming varies seasonally, and it’s winter that has seen the fastest warming. An analysis of data from the U.S. Historical Climatology Network of weather stations […]

Preparing Richardson Bay for rising sea levels – ‘There are two reactions to dealing with sea level rise: there is fight and there is flight’

By James Temple19 January 2013 (San Francisco Chronicle) – On a sunny Friday afternoon last fall, a Grand Banks trawler idled at the mouth of Richardson Bay, giving those aboard a close look at a battleground in the fight against climate change. The lobster claw-shaped estuary defines and occasionally redefines the southeastern edge of Marin […]

Avalanche deaths rise dramatically in U.S. over long term

By Hector Becerra28 December 2012 (Los Angeles Times) – A Lake Tahoe-area resort ski patrol member for nearly 30 years, Bill Foster would have understood the dangers of avalanches better than most. But even knowing the exact date and time of a planned avalanche didn’t save the 53-year-old’s life. Moments after another member of the […]

The heat is on for California wines as climate changes

By Lauren Sommer from QUEST Northern California4 September 2012 You’ve probably heard of the wines that made Napa and Sonoma famous, like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. But what about Negroamaro or Nero d’Avola? They’re wine grapes that are well-adapted to hotter climates – the kind of conditions that California may be facing as the climate […]

California farmers examine climate change issues

By Robert Rodriguez27 September 2012 (The Fresno Bee) – New science and research has San Joaquin Valley farmers taking a harder look at the effect that climate change may have on their industry. If researcher’s predictions hold true, the Valley’s multi-billion dollar agriculture industry will be hit with longer stretches of hot temperatures, fewer colder […]

Graph of the Day: Temperatures and Wildfire Numbers in the U.S. West, 1970-2010

Among the Western States, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana have seen the most dramatic increases in wildfires since 1970. According to our analysis, the average annual number of large fires has nearly quadrupled in Arizona and Idaho, and at least doubled in California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. On the […]

Report: The Age of Western Wildfires

18 September 2012 (Climate Central) – The 2012 wildfire season isn’t over yet, but already this year is shaping up to be the one of the worst on record in the American West. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, with nearly two months still to go in the fire season, the total area already […]

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