New York Times, 6/28/2021
These are among the signs of a huge transformation up and down California’s Central Valley, the country’s most lucrative agricultural belt, as it confronts both an exceptional drought and the consequences of years of pumping far too much water out of its aquifers.Across the state, reservoir levels are dropping and electric grids are at risk if hydroelectric dams don’t get enough water to produce power.
Climate change is supercharging the scarcity. Rising temperatures dry out the soil, which in turn can worsen heat waves. This week, temperatures in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest have been shattering records. [emphasis added]
By 2040, the San Joaquin Valley is projected to lose at least 535,000 acres of agricultural production. That’s more than a tenth of the area farmed.
7/6/2021 update, "Beating the heat of summer camp", starts here.
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New York Times, 7/5/2021
Jill Laidlaw has worked for 37 years at Camp Cavell in Lexington, Mich., a little spot of paradise on Lake Huron. But she has seen trouble in paradise: climate change.
Temperatures in Michigan have risen by two to three degrees, on average, in the last century, and Ms. Laidlaw said she had seen the effects of that warming in many ways, from hotter days and warmer nights to stronger rainstorms, harmful algae blooms in the region's lakes and an explosion of ticks. And increasingly common bans on any kind of burning have even restricted one of the most beloved aspects of summer camp, she said: “We've had ‘flashlight campfires’ the last few summers.”
5/19/2021 update, "National Parks Service adjusts its mission to reflect a changing climate", starts here
New York Times, 5/19/2021
For generations, the core mission of the National Park Service has been absolute conservation. Instructions to preserve iconic landscapes unchanged are inscribed in the founding documents of many parks. But what happens when climate change makes that impossible?
Park managers have been asking themselves that question for a while now. Caught in the reality of the climate crisis, they’ve mostly had to improvise. But late last month the service published new guidance for park managers in the era of global warming.
Original 5/13/2021 post, "Buying a home in South Florida", starts here.
Miami Herald, 5/13/2021
In South Florida, top considerations for choosing a new home have shifted, thanks to climate change.
“Before it was location, location, location. Now, it’s about elevation, elevation, elevation. The new buyer has to worry about both,” said George Jalil, broker and president at Miami Way Realty.
Sea level rise doesn’t top the list of buyer or seller concerns in South Florida — especially if you’re rich enough to afford the ever-skyrocketing costs of waterfront property — but for budget-conscious buyers, choosing the wrong home could have expensive consequences.
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