Topic: Climate Change

Overview

Climate Change

Aquafornia news KCRA (Sacramento)

Pacifica divided on how to respond to rising sea levels

Coastal cities up and down California continue to be confronted by the reality of rising sea levels and how to manage coastal erosion. But how to respond to the changing landscape has divided residents, especially when it comes to “managed retreat.” Managed retreat is a tool that moves people, buildings and other infrastructure out of harm’s way before disaster strikes. In Pacifica, that would mean moving back from the coastline where several properties have already been lost to eroding cliffs. Several other properties teeter on the edge.  Managed retreat in Pacifica would include moving volunteering property owners and public infrastructure.

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Aquafornia news The New York Times

The California wildfires are the latest disaster supercharged by climate change

As Los Angeles burned for days on end, horrifying the nation, scientists made an announcement on Friday that could help explain the deadly conflagration: 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history. With temperatures rising around the globe and the oceans unusually warm, scientists are warning that the world has entered a dangerous new era of chaotic floods, storms and fires made worse by human-caused climate change.  The firestorms ravaging the country’s second-largest city are just the latest spasm of extreme weather that is growing more furious as well as more unpredictable. Wildfires are highly unusual in Southern California in January, which is supposed to be the rainy season. The same is true for cyclones in Appalachia, where Hurricanes Helene and Milton shocked the country when they tore through mountain communities in October.

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Aquafornia news CNN

Friday Top of the Scroll: La Niña has arrived. Here’s what that means for the US

La Niña has finally emerged after months of anticipation, but there’s a catch. The climate pattern — which typically has an outsized influence on winter weather in the US — is rather weak and may not stick around for long. But that won’t totally eliminate its effect. And, despite its late arrival, it’s already played a clear role in this winter’s weather. Forecasters closely monitor La Niña and its counterpart El Niño because they influence global weather in a way that’s largely consistent and predictable well in advance – especially when the patterns are strong. … Despite the timing and its weakened state, La Niña’s atmospheric influence has already been apparent this winter. California is the most obvious example. Winter in Northern California is typically wetter during La Niña while the southern half of the state is drier than normal. Those extremes are playing out in a major way: Northern California has had plenty of rain while Southern California is so tinder-dry that thousands of acres ignited this week.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Intensifying climate ‘whiplash’ set the stage for devastating California fires

The devastating wildfires that have ravaged Southern California erupted following a stark shift from wet weather to extremely dry weather — a phenomenon scientists describe as “hydroclimate whiplash.” New research shows these abrupt wet-to-dry and dry-to-wet swings, which can worsen wildfires, flooding and other hazards, are growing more frequent and intense because of human-caused climate change. “We’re in a whiplash event now, wet to dry, in Southern California,” said Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist who led the research. “The evidence shows that hydroclimate whiplash has already increased due to global warming, and further warming will bring about even larger increases.” 

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Aquafornia news Inside Climate News

To save the Great Salt Lake, farmers will have to grow less alfalfa

… The decline of the Great Salt Lake drew increased scrutiny in recent years, after the lake hit record lows in 2022. At the time, experts warned that if conditions continued, the lake could be completely dry within 5 years. Environmentalists sued the state over the lake’s decline, arguing it has violated its public trust obligations by threatening a public health crisis and ecological collapse and also filed an Endangered Species Act petition to protect a bird whose declining population is heavily reliant on the Great Salt Lake during its annual migration.  But the last two years have been wet years, leading to policymakers, including the state’s governor, to downplay the issue, despite continued concern over the future of the lake from academics and environmentalists.

Aquafornia news Associated Press

New research shows a quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction

Nearly a quarter of animals living in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources are threatened with extinction, according to new research published Wednesday. “Huge rivers like the Amazon can appear mighty, but at the same time freshwater environments are very fragile,” said study co-author Patricia Charvet, a biologist at Brazil’s Federal University of Ceará. Freshwater habitats – including rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, bogs and wetlands – cover less than 1% of the planet’s surface, but support 10% of its animal species, said Catherine Sayer, a zoologist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in England. The researchers examined around 23,500 species of dragonflies, fish, crabs and other animals that depend exclusively on freshwater ecosystems. They found that 24% were at risk of extinction – classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered – due to compounding threats from pollution, dams, water extraction, agriculture, invasive species, climate change and other disruptions.

Other fish article:

Aquafornia news CalMatters

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Wildfires in January? Here’s why California wildfire season is worse

As climate change warms the planet, wildfires have become so unpredictable and extreme that new words were invented: firenado, gigafire, fire siege — even fire pandemic. California has 78 more annual “fire days” — when conditions are ripe for fires to spark — than 50 years ago. When is California’s wildfire season? With recurring droughts, it is now year-round. Nothing is as it was. Where are the worst California wildfires? All over. Whatever NIMBYism that gave comfort to some Californians — never having a fire in their community before — no longer applies to most areas.  Los Angeles County is the latest victim. 

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: As Pacific Palisades burns, firefighters report hydrants coming up dry: ‘Water supply just dropped’

As fires raged across Los Angeles on Tuesday, some firefighters battling the Palisades fire reported on internal radio systems that hydrants in Pacific Palisades were coming up dry. “The hydrants are down,” said one firefighter. “Water supply just dropped,” said another. … A spokesman for the Department of Water and Power acknowledged reports of diminished water flow from hydrants but did not have details on the number of hydrants without water or the scale of the issue. In a statement, the DWP said water crews were working in the neighborhood “to ensure the availability of water supplies.” “This area is served by water tanks and close coordination is underway to continue supplying the area,” the DWP said in its statement.

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Aquafornia news Waste Today

EPA issues first underground injection permits for carbon sequestration in California

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it issued four underground injection control (UIC) Class VI well permits to Carbon TerraVault JV Storage Company, a subsidiary of California Resources Corporation, Long Beach, California. Class VI UIC wells are used to inject carbon dioxide into deep rock formations for permanent underground storage. This technology, called carbon capture and underground storage or geologic sequestration, can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and mitigate climate change, the EPA says. The four Class VI UIC permits are for the first permitted Class VI injection wells in California and are the first such permits issued by EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. EPA says it has determined that the activities authorized under the Class VI UIC permits are protective of underground sources of drinking water and public health as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Series of atmospheric storms in California could slam holiday travel

A series of atmospheric river storms are expected to impact Northern California over the weekend, raising the likelihood of making holiday plans for many travelers more complicated. … The first of the storm systems is expected to move into the Bay Area on Saturday morning, bringing about a quarter of an inch to a third of an inch of rain to San Francisco and Oakland, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Dial Hoang. The North Bay valleys are expected to get around half an inch to three-quarters of an inch of rain while the mountains could record one and a half inches, Hoang said. San Jose and the inland portions of the East Bay could see a few hundredths of an inch.

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Aquafornia news San Diego Union-Tribune

Commentary: Climate-change adaptation for California’s land, the sea and water supply

California state government and many local agencies put a premium on reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. But recent developments underscore the parallel emphasis on adapting to the effects of global warming — from advances in sea-level rise strategies to stretching water supplies to thinning forests at high risk for wildfire. The scientific consensus that global warming is an existential threat is facing renewed challenge, especially with skeptic-in-chief Donald Trump taking up residence in the White House again next month. Regardless of what one thinks about climate change, it’s a fact that the seas are rising, wildfires are more intense and drought-afflicted water supplies are shrinking. Like efforts to slow or reverse climate change, projects to adapt to it aren’t cheap. But in many cases, not making the investments can be more expensive.
—Written by Michael Smolens, columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune

Related climate resilience article:

Aquafornia news Sacramento Bee

Environmentalists file suit against California climate program

A coalition of environmental groups challenged California’s leading climate regulator Wednesday, alleging that a recent update to a leading climate program will create additional pollution in the state’s San Joaquin Valley. Their lawsuit filed in Fresno county superior court calls on the California Air Resources Board to “adequately disclose, analyze and mitigate the significant environmental impact” caused by amendments to Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). … Environmental laws “require CARB to acknowledge the obvious—that providing substantial financial benefits for the production of fuel derived from manure at factory farms incentivizes factory farm expansion,” environmentalists wrote in the complaint. But the agency “fails to adequately evaluate and mitigate their impacts, including increased local air pollution, impacts to groundwater, and climate change,” they determined. CARB’s environmental review, the petitioners concluded, “cannot support a meaningful process or informed decisions about the LCFS amendments.”

Aquafornia news KJZZ

Listen: Drought looks different on the East Coast, and so do attitudes about water

A little more than a third of the country is experiencing some level of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The worst-hit areas include parts of Arizona, Utah and California, as well as some regions of Texas. But areas in New Jersey, Delaware and Massachusetts are also seeing extreme drought, and much of the East Coast is currently in a moderate drought. While this is somewhat new for those East Coasters, the West has been dealing with drought for years. But that’s not the only difference between drought in the East and drought in the West. Andrea Thompson, associate editor for earth and the environment at Scientific American, has written about this and joined The Show to discuss, starting with what some of those differences are.

Aquafornia news California State University Monterey Bay

News release: CSUMB researchers explore different perspectives on climate change

There is almost no disagreement any longer among scientists that climate change is a reality and that its effects are already upon us. A number of researchers at Cal State Monterey Bay are engaged in work that is either measuring those effects or finding ways to combat them. Among the studies are those looking at off-gassing from agricultural fields, warmer ocean water’s impact on coral reefs, and wildlife preservation. … Arun Jani, assistant professor in the Biology and Chemistry department, is trying to determine the optimum use of nitrogen as a fertilizer in agricultural fields in the hope of reducing current levels. His projects run from fields near Soledad to test plots in Watsonville. In addition to decreased fertilizer use, Jani is also evaluating the effects of using a material called biochar in the soil and determining ideal crop rotations. … Nitrogen fertilizers not only produce nitrous oxide gas, but they can also leach into groundwater and raise levels of nitrate, a harmful chemical. The industry standard for nitrogen fertilizers is to use 150 pounds per acre. Jani’s studies have shown that much less of the chemical can be used effectively for area crops. 

Aquafornia news The New York Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Atmospheric rivers are expected to soak Washington, Oregon and California

A barrage of storms known as atmospheric rivers is expected to soak the West Coast over the next eight to 10 days, raising the risk of flooding, power outages and holiday travel disruptions leading up to Christmas in a region that has already experienced significant weather activity this season. The bulk of the rain and snow is likely to fall between British Columbia and Northern California, with Washington and Oregon poised to have some of the wettest, sloppiest weather. Several storms, including one that swept into the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday night, are stacked up in the forecast, said Marty Ralph, the director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California, San Diego.

Other weather & snowpack articles:

Aquafornia news San Francisco Chronicle

How California scientists are turning fog into water

Fog — a part of daily life for millions of Californians — is fundamentally fickle. Yet now researchers are trying to more consistently harvest it. The effort comes as global warming pushes California’s climate pendulum from brutal droughts to extreme deluges. As these swings intensify, water supplies are becoming increasingly precious. Fog, however,  blankets parts of California through dry periods and heatwaves. Scientists, and investors, say this untapped water resource could make communities more resilient, while stirring an impulse to conserve. … [Peter] Weiss and collaborators at Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State are investigating just how much water they can seize from the mist. The amount the group is harvesting is modest, but the scientists are working with water districts, a housing developer and residents on experimental projects across the Bay Area.

Other science articles:

Aquafornia news Times of San Diego

EPA awards California more than $216 million for resilience projects, including in San Diego County

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the state of California a combined $216.5 million in order to strengthen climate resilience and reduce pollution in communities, with more than $30 million of that going to San Diego County. Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla’s office made the announcement Monday afternoon. “Overlooked communities across California have struggled for generations with air pollution and unaffordable water and energy bills,” Padilla said in a statement. “The climate crisis has only underscored these vulnerabilities.”

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Aquafornia news U.S. Geological Survey

New flood hazard products to support coastal climate adaptation planning in Humboldt County, California

Across the US, coastal communities face increasing threats from flooding, erosion, and rising groundwater tables due to accelerating sea-level rise and changing storm patterns. CoSMoS is a dynamic modeling approach that allows for detailed projections of coastal flooding due to both future sea level rise and storms. … CoSMoS models all the relevant physics of a coastal storm (e.g., tides, waves, and storm surge), which are then scaled down to local flood projections for use in community-level coastal planning and decision-making. Rather than relying on historical storm records, CoSMoS uses wind and pressure from global climate models to project coastal storm impacts under changing climatic conditions during the 21st century. Projections of multiple storm scenarios are provided under a suite of sea-level rise scenarios. These options allow users to manage and meet their own planning horizons and specify degrees of risk tolerance.

Aquafornia news KQED

Stanford AI predicts a scorching future — even if greenhouse gas goals are met

Even after some of Earth’s warmest years in history, two new climate studies from Stanford University suggest that the hottest years ahead will likely shatter existing records — even if greenhouse gas emissions are slashed. The research comes as this year is likely on track to beat out 2023 as Earth’s hottest year on record. This summer was the warmest in the world for California and at least three Bay Area cities. And as average temperatures continue to climb, more extreme climate conditions will be likely. For the first study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers trained artificial intelligence using historical temperature observations alongside a range of temperature and greenhouse gas data from global climate models.

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Aquafornia news NPR

Listen: Will Trump pay to save the Colorado River? Locals are worried

The Colorado River is shrinking as climate change worsens the Southwestern drought, so the Biden administration has been paying farmers and cities not to use water. It’s spending nearly $5 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure the nation’s biggest reservoirs don’t go dry. But President-elect Trump’s campaign has threatened to cut that funding. And as KUNC’s Alex Hager reports, people who share the river’s water are worried.

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Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

A destructive fire began near Pepperdine University. Here’s what to know

… The Franklin fire is burning within much of the footprint of 2018’s devastating Woolsey fire, which destroyed more than 1,600 structures and burned about 97,000 acres in Malibu, the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding communities of Thousand Oaks, Oak Park and Agoura Hills. Research shows wildfires have grown more intense in recent decades, fueled by wildfire weather (hot, dry conditions plus wind) that’s become more frequent — especially in California. “Southern California had a couple of wet years in a row, and that means a build-up of fuels in wildlands,” Alex Hall, director of UCLA’s Center for Climate Science, wrote in a statement. “The current wet season has been very dry so far. The sequence of very wet followed dry conditions sets the stage for big wildfires.”

Other wildfire articles:

Aquafornia news Newsweek

Map shows US cities that could be underwater in 2050

A map shows the growing threat to coastal cities across the United States due to rising sea levels. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s latest projections, sea levels along the U.S. coastlines are projected to rise, on average, around 10 to 12 inches by 2050. Many communities along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts face significant risks of partial inundation in the future if current trends continue and mitigation efforts are not intensified. NOAA’s Sea Level Rise Viewer shows which cities may be impacted along each coast, with dark blue areas indicating significant projected sea level rises.

Other sea level rise articles:

Aquafornia news Marin Independent Journal

Marin awarded nearly $6M for coastal projects

The California State Coastal Conservancy is investing nearly $6 million in the restoration and management of Marin County shorelines. The allocation is part of a larger statewide distribution of more than $113 million approved last month to protect the coast from the effects of climate change. In Marin, a $1.4 million grant is going to Tiburon to fund the final phase of restoration at Greenwood Beach and Brunini Beach at Blackie’s Pasture. “Blackie’s Pasture is a much-loved and used historical public park that has a highly eroded shoreline, typical of many locations around SF Bay,” said David Eshoo, engineering manager for the town. “This grant will pay for 100% of the construction costs including post-construction monitoring for three years.” … 

Aquafornia news CNN

Powerful Santa Ana wind event to bring potentially dangerous fire weather to Southern California

Southern California is bracing for another round of strong, potentially dangerous Santa Ana winds just over a month after a similar wind event helped fuel the Mountain Fire, which scorched nearly 20,000 acres in Ventura County and sent residents scrambling for safety. … Wind gusts of 50 mph to 80 mph and humidities between 5% and 15% are expected across the coasts, valleys and mountains of the Santa Ana wind-prone corridor. These Potentially Dangerous Situations are rarely issued and are reserved for the most extreme events; however, climate change is increasing the frequency of these events.

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Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Second-warmest November on record means that 2024 is likely to be Earth’s hottest year, report says

Earth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a report Monday by European climate service Copernicus. Last year was the hottest on record due to human-caused climate change coupled with the effects of an El Nino. But after this summer registered as the hottest on record — Phoenix sweltered through 113 consecutive days with a high temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius) — scientists were anticipating that 2024 would set a new annual record as well. … Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod, who wasn’t involved in the report, said the big story about November is that “like 2023, it beat out previous Novembers by a large margin.”

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Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Earth’s lands are drying out. Nations are trying to address it in talks this week

Much of Earth’s lands are drying out and damaging the ability of plant and animal life to survive, according to a United Nations report released Monday at talks where countries are working to address the problem. The report was released at the U.N. summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on combating desertification — once-fertile lands turning into deserts because of hotter temperatures from human-caused climate change, lack of water and deforestation. It found that more than three-quarters of the world’s land experienced drier conditions from 1970 to 2020 than the previous thirty-year period. … At the talks, which started last week and are set to end on Friday, nations are discussing how better they can help the world deal with droughts — a more urgent lack of water over shorter periods — and the more permanent problem of degrading land.

Other drought article:

Aquafornia news ABC News

Heat wave hot spots identified across the globe

It’s all but certain that 2024 will be Earth’s warmest year on record, surpassing 2023 as the previous record holder. While this troubling milestone measures global average temperatures, a new study from the Columbia Climate School found that unexplained extreme heat wave hot spots are popping up in specific areas worldwide. Calling it “a striking new phenomenon,” the study’s authors write, “Distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain.” According to the study, “The large and unexpected margins by which recent regional-scale extremes have broken earlier records have raised questions about the degree to which climate models can provide adequate estimates of relations between global mean temperature changes and regional climate risks.”

Other climate change article:

Aquafornia news The Press Democrat

Guerneville’s Surrey Resort mopping up after fourth flood in five years: ‘Seems a little cursed’

Joey Luiz, manager of Guerneville’s Surrey Resort was warned about wintertime along the Russian River. “Be ready for storms in January and February,” he was told when he took over day-to-day resort management in May. So, when he learned one of those storms was set to arrive earlier, the week of Nov. 17, he didn’t ignore the forecast. Nearly half the 22 tents for which the glamping resort is known had already been put away for the season. And in preparation of the rains and the projected flooding, Luiz and his crew moved the resort’s vehicles to high ground. What Luiz didn’t prepare for — or expect — was a 100-year-storm to inundate the town and property. … Luiz said the incident is making him rethink the resort’s business plan to ensure it can be sustainable through the unpredictability caused by climate change.

Related article:

Aquafornia news Sacramento Bee

Counties in California where landslides pose the greatest threat

… As climate change strengthens hurricanes and increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, the risk of landslides is also rising. To get a clearer picture of where the risk is greatest, Truck Parking Club mapped county-level data from the Department of the Interior Geological Survey, then ranked California counties by the share of their land that is susceptible to landslides as part of a larger national analysis. Data was published in September 2024. Counties are displayed by the share of their land area that is susceptible to landslides. In California, over half of the land is susceptible to landslides in 44 counties. In 9 counties, over 90% of land is susceptible.

Other climate change article:

Aquafornia news Courthouse News Service

California water managers advise multipronged approach in face of climate change

State water management officials must work more closely with local agencies to properly prepare California for the effects of climate change, water scientists say. Golden State officials said in the newly revised California Water Plan that as the nation’s most populous state, California is too diverse and complex for a singular approach to manage a vast water network. On Monday, they recommended expanding the work to better manage the state’s precious water resources — including building better partnerships with communities most at risk during extreme drought and floods and improving critical infrastructure for water storage, treatment and distribution among different regions and watersheds.

Related climate change articles: 

Aquafornia news The Associated Press

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Study says California’s 2023 snowy rescue from megadrought was a freak event. Don’t get used to it

Last year’s snow deluge in California, which quickly erased a two decade long megadrought, was essentially a once-in-a-lifetime rescue from above, a new study found. Don’t get used to it because with climate change the 2023 California snow bonanza —a record for snow on the ground on April 1 — will be less likely in the future, said the study in Monday’s journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. … UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, who wasn’t part of the study but specializes in weather in the U.S. West, said, “I would not be surprised if 2023 was the coldest, snowiest winter for the rest of my own lifetime in California.”

Related snowpack articles: 

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

As climate hazards converge, health risks rise in California

State health officials know that extreme heat can cost lives and send people to the hospital, just like wildfire smoke. Now, new research finds that when people are exposed to both hazards simultaneously — as is increasingly the case in California — heart and respiratory crises outpace the expected sum of hospitalizations compared to when the conditions occur separately. … The study joins a growing body of research about the intersection of different climate risks. Last month, California-based think-tank the Pacific Institute published a report about how converging hazards — including wildfires, drought, flooding, sea level rise and intensifying storms — are harming access to drinking water and sanitation in California and other parts of the world. The deadly 2018 Camp fire in Butte County impacted an estimated 2,438 private wells, the report said.