Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 18, 2008
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Is climate change to blame for string of Southland fires?
Scientists say no definitive link has been demonstrated between rising temperatures and wildfire occurrence in
Global climate summit to open in Los Angeles
Associated Press
Report outlines how to adapt to climate change
Governor in limelight as climate summit host
San Francisco Chronicle
Editorial:
We're still wasting water entering a possible 3rd straight year of drought
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Is climate change to blame for string of Southland fires?
Scientists say no definitive link has been demonstrated between rising temperatures and wildfire occurrence in
By Bettina Boxall, staff writer
Is climate change to blame for the string of destructive fires that have hit
Research has shown an increase in large wildfires in some western forest regions in recent decades, particularly in the northern Rocky Mountains and, to some extent,
Warming is reducing the snowpack there and causing it to melt earlier, resulting in a longer, drier fire season.
But scientists say no definitive link has been demonstrated between rising temperatures and wildfires in
In a statement after the firestorms that struck the region in October 2007, UC Merced assistant professor Anthony Westerling said that while there have been big wildfire years, no statistically significant fire trends are evident in the coastal chaparral belt.
"We can't finger climate change," said Dan Cayan, a climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The current drought in the Southwest may simply be part of the normal cycle of wet and dry spells. But looking over the next century, Cayan said, regions with a Mediterranean climate such as
"I have to believe that is going to make us more vulnerable to some of these more intense fire episodes."#
Global climate summit to open in Los Angeles
Associated Press – 11/18/08
(11-18) 02:58 PST LOS ANGELES, (AP) --
A day before he was to welcome hundreds of high-ranking officials for a summit on greenhouse gas emissions, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger raised the environmental stakes in
Schwarzenegger signed an executive order committing the state to obtaining a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
"I am proposing we set the most aggressive target in the nation for renewable energy," Schwarzenegger said Monday. The state legislature still must pass the goal into law.
The move came on the eve of the Governors' Global Climate Summit, bringing together scientists, environmentalists and government and industry officials for a two-day meeting.
The conference, which begins Tuesday in
The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said temperatures worldwide could increase between 4 degrees and 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 unless nations reduce their emissions.
Division remains over how much countries should be required to cut, especially as the world grapples with a financial crisis.
Schwarzenegger has maintained that forcing utilities and businesses to cut emissions will promote innovation. He says that will boost
The
"For me, it is extremely important to give governments the confidence they can go forward and adopt ambitious policies and targets knowing there is a foundation that can deliver the results," Kinley said in an interview with The Associated Press before leaving Germany for the conference.
The lineup includes high-ranking government officials from
An analysis by The Associated Press revealed that the air travel alone of the 1,400 invitees would discharge more than 2,554 metric tons of carbon dioxide — a so-called carbon footprint equivalent to that produced from 424 cars driven for a year. The governor's office said about half the invitees are expected to attend.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/17/state/n130925S65.DTL
Report outlines how to adapt to climate change
By Mike Lee, staff writer
Scientists and policy experts yesterday unveiled San Diego County's first blueprint for adapting to rising sea levels, altered rainfall and other “catastrophic” changes linked to global warming.
“A Regional Wake-up Call” offers detailed projections about how the climate will change by 2050 and offers suggestions or how to lessen those effects.
“While climate change is a global issue, . . . the
To date, climate science has focused on understanding long-term weather trends, predicting their worldwide impact and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
But interest in adapting to the likely effects of climate change is growing. On Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order to identify
A couple of years ago, The San Diego Foundation started pulling together regional leaders to describe the local effects of global warming and outline possible responses. The 40-member group doesn't have regulatory authority, but its report is likely to influence politicians and bureaucrats as they prepare for potentially major challenges.
“In general, this region has been . . . behind what our expectations were in terms of climate planning,” said Bill Kuni, chairman of the foundation's Climate Change Initiative committee. “We have to start now if we want to see some significant progress five years from now.”
The first step was to have scientists from UC San Diego, San Diego State University and elsewhere spell out the problems as specifically as possible.
They said that compared with today, San Diego County in 2050 will require 37 percent more water, the number of days with prime conditions for major wildfires will be up to 20 percent greater, and the sea level will be at least 1 foot higher. The results could be more frequent flooding of coastal properties, more severe water shortages and greater strains on public health agencies.
“It's a pace of change that we just have not experienced,” said Dan Cayan, a climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a co-author of the report. “We need to start thinking about what we would do if different scenarios play out.”
For instance, yesterday's report said coastal property owners may have to relocate buildings, and agencies may need to reduce or stop coastal development as the ocean rises.
Other coping mechanisms include the countywide adoption of drought-tolerant landscaping, greater investment in water recycling programs, prohibitions against building in fire-prone areas and better early-warning systems for heat waves.
Kuni said representatives from the study team already have offered more specific recommendations to top city and county officials. He said The San Diego Foundation is helping agencies find experts and money to assist with adaptation plans.
A spokesman for San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said the city's administration welcomes reports like the one issued yesterday. “We are going to investigate what things we can do to prepare our city should some of the more dire predictions come true,” Bill Harris said.
Roughly three-quarters of the city and county governments in
The institute urged leaders statewide to step up their plans for dealing with floods, habitat destruction, public health emergencies and other climate-related problems.
Building such plans can be complex because they need to deal with localized conditions rather than universal norms, said Lynne Carter, director of the Adaptation Network, a nonprofit educational group based in
“We can't really stop global warming in our lifetimes,” Carter said. “What we can do is make the impacts less awful than they would otherwise be if we didn't do anything.”#
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081118-9999-1m18adapt.html
Governor in limelight as climate summit host
San Francisco Chronicle – 11/18/08
By Matthew Yi, staff writer
(11-18) 04:00 PST
Hundreds of dignitaries, industry representatives and scientists are expected to gather today in
The two-day conference in Beverly Hills places Schwarzenegger and California under the international limelight as he tries to engage leaders of other states, provinces and nations to work collaboratively to limit greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
The governor first received international acclaim two years ago for signing AB32, landmark legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020. He also has been brokering an alliance with other Western states and Canadian provinces to create the Western Climate Initiative that aims to design a regional market for trading carbon credits.
More recently, the governor last week ordered state agencies to consider the effects of global warming, such as rising sea level, in their infrastructure planning.
On Monday, he signed an executive order setting a goal of requiring 33 percent of the state's energy to come from renewable sources by 2020, and for state agencies to streamline permitting processes for renewable energy projects such as solar arrays.
This week's two-day climate summit will be a chance to share such policy ideas, organizers say.
"First thing is that we want (the conference) to be a showcase of what the states, provinces and countries are doing to limit emissions, and I think that'll surprise the world," said Terry Tamminen, former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency under Schwarzenegger.
Tamminen said organizers also hope participants will draft a declaration by the end of the summit that not only describes their commitment to fight global warming but sets specific goals for the future partnerships.
"In talking to the international delegates, there's a real appetite to use (the conference) as a kickoff," Tamminen said.
The summit is expected to attract nearly 800 participants from as close as
Eileen Tutt, a deputy secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency, said she believes the conference will greatly benefit local, state and provincial governments as they share ideas and learn how to work toward a common goal of reducing emissions.
"By partnering together, sharing best practices and developing green economies, we will all benefit," she said.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/18/BAF9146A3I.DTL’
Editorial:
We're still wasting water entering a possible 3rd straight year of drought
By Dennis Wyatt, Editor
The drought of 1976-77 sent
A third year would have laid waste to thousands of square miles of farmland, triggered an ecological disaster in the Delta as well on a number of rivers, plus forced severe rationing in many urban centers.
But even without the harsh realities a third year of drought would have caused, there were still plenty of severe impacts.
•
• Hundreds of acres of orchards and vineyards were left to die in areas of the
• Mandatory rationing was the rule of the day in a number of Northern California cities that depended on stored water behind the great dams of the
It was against this backdrop that a massive lake at the Mission Viejo planned community in
News footage of the lake being filled enraged Northern California as did numerous TV shots showing
At one point, a news crew filmed an angry Mission Viejo resident slamming the decision while proclaiming that he shouldn't have to suffer because it wasn't the south state's fault "that
The irony of the statement was not lost in the long simmering north-south water wars. The water flowing into Mission Viejo originated from the furthest point in
Since then, Californians have led the way in conserving water. Farmers treated it as if it were liquid gold. Cities imposed low-flow requirements for flush toilets and instituted year-round water conservation measures. People started using less and less even in years of plentiful water.
We've come a long way since 1976-77. But at the same time the state's population has swelled from 21.9 million to 37.9 million while no new water storage facilities were built.
Even if more dams were built it would be at least a decade away, if that soon.
Orchards have been left to die. Farmers aren't planting crops. The Department of Water Resources has announced they may cut back water deliveries to agencies serving 25 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland by 85 percent in 2009.
So where is the water going to come from?
Part of the answer is easy.
We are still wasting water.
The proverbial dew on the pumpkin is leaving those not yet picked slopping wet with moisture. Yet you can go down any street in a
The biggest residential use of water is irrigating lawns.
A simple requirement for all new construction- residential, commercial, industrial and even city-owned landscape maintenance districts - is to have moisture sensors would go a long way. It wouldn't be an intrusive rule. New home construction, for example, only impacts the front yard landscaping that is required before the home can be occupied.
How many acre feet of water does Manteca waste a year when automatic sprinkler systems come on during the rain or heavy fog when there is more than enough moisture to take care of plants and grass?
The real question is why should
We can either keep rolling the dice on drought years or we can take steps to minimize the wanton waste of water.#
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=24&SubSectionID=54&ArticleID=60303&TM=18394.54
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