"The most consistent and smartest thinking and writing about progressive politics isn't happening in Sacramento, but being churned out day after day on sites and by organizations like Calitics, Orange County Progressive, and the California Budget Project." - CalBuzz
New Orleans may sink into the sea by 2100. Much of Florida may also be underwater by then. Drought will likely become the norm out West, meaning California could no longer provide the food we depend upon. Las Vegas may become downright inhabitable.
No, I'm not fabricating any of this. These will be the consequences of inaction if we continue to delay implementing the solutions we need to solve the coming climate crisis. But for some reason, may of our supposedly wise lawmakers in Capitol Hill are either willfully ignorant of the facts or downright lying about our future.
In case you forgot, HR 2454, also known as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009", is coming up for a final vote tonight. This is the "global warming bill" that everyone's anticipating. Honestly, it's not perfect. It doesn't go as far in combating the climate crisis as it should.
Still, it's better than nothing and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-West LA) has allowed some great improvements to the bill. So on that note, here's a note from CDP Chair John Burton urging passage.
Dear OCProgressive.com Reader,
The House is about to vote in the next hour on our clean energy future!!
Can you please take 2 minutes to make a quick call to Congress to tell them to support the bill?
The American Clean Energy and Security Act is a visionary step toward developing a clean energy economy, promoting energy security, and preserving our planet.
Call the capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge your representative to vote YES.
Compared with the period from 1960 through 1979, temperatures in the Southwest are expected to rise 4 to 10 degrees by the end of the century.
The chance for longer-lasting heat waves could force the region's residents to use more air conditioning, which would increase the risk of blackouts as electricity supplies become depleted.
The report also warned that the region, already suffering an extended drought as evidenced by declines in Colorado River flow and spring snowpack, should be prepared to face large reductions in spring precipitation by the end of the century. With that, combined with temperature increases and rapid population growth, the Southwest can expect increased competition for water.
The rising temperatures will also lead to more wildfires, and the loss of wetlands will cause more flooding along rivers. Also, ski resort areas will have less snow, cutting recreational opportunities.
While all of this sounds like a doomsday movie script, it is being presented to the public in all seriousness by many of the country's top scientists.
The Las Vegas Sun mentioned this brutal reality today in a hard-hitting editorial on the need for real action on the climate crisis. The whole world is threatened, but we're especially at risk here in The American Southwest. We already have little water, but climate change may end up taking away the little water we have left.
So what can we do? We need to change. We need to rethink the way we interact with this planet.
