Climate change
2015 Broke Heat Records
|
Scientists have finished crunching the numbers and say that 2015 is Earth’s warmest year by the “widest margin on record.”
New Mexico In Depth (https://nmindepth.com/author/paskus/page/6/)
Scientists have finished crunching the numbers and say that 2015 is Earth’s warmest year by the “widest margin on record.”
Ending its power agreement with PNM, the northwestern New Mexico city has signed a new contract with Florida-based Guzman Energy. Bills will decrease and eight percent of the city’s electricity will come from solar.
The US Department of the Interior has announced a two-year moratorium on new coal leases, including 28,000 acres of leases in New Mexico. But the industry’s woes have been ongoing for years.
A new scientific paper highlights four western water basins and the threats each faces from climate change. The prognosis for the Rio Grande? Not rosy.
Pope Francis’ 120-page letter quotes not only saints, but scientists, economists and Indigenous leaders.
Scientists can describe intensifying wildfires, droughts, disappearing glaciers, the extinction of species and rising sea levels. They can predict and model. But data points and scientific graphs don’t inspire people to change their behavior. That takes faith, says Lutheran lay theologian Larry Rasmussen. And love. Citing Pope Francis’ encyclical ‘On Care for Our Common Home,’ Rasmussen believes action within religious organizations is finally reaching critical mass.
Climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck says delegates in Paris hit a “major milestone in human history.” But “the devil is in the implementation.”
If you’ve been wondering where the sandhill cranes are this year, check the weather maps. Far fewer of the birds are migrating south because of warmer temperatures where they are.
In New Mexico there are 15,000 abandoned mines, according to the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Abandoned Mine Land Program.
The more clearly societies understand climate change, the better they can plan. Right now, New Mexicans face challenges–but there are opportunities, too.