Climate change
Pondering Climate Change, With Anxiety and Hope
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The more clearly societies understand climate change, the better they can plan. Right now, New Mexicans face challenges–but there are opportunities, too.
New Mexico In Depth (https://nmindepth.com/tag/precipice/)
The more clearly societies understand climate change, the better they can plan. Right now, New Mexicans face challenges–but there are opportunities, too.
There’s no shortage of accurate—and readable—information about climate change in the southwestern United States. Since Laura Paskus loves making lists, she jumped at the chance to share some of the titles on the bookshelf next to her own desk for those seeking to learn more about what’s happening as the region warms.
In the Southwest, recent springtime stream flow forecasts have been pretty bleak. But now, scientists at the University of New Mexico are saying that actually, they’re probably not bleak enough. Forecasters might not have adjusted enough for a moving target that is increasingly a factor—the climate’s continual warming.
Last year, New Mexico state lawmakers set aside $100,000 to study the state’s water supply. But now, the funding is gone. Citing a drop in state revenue, the Legislature has pulled funding for the group—known as the New Mexico Universities Working Group on Water Supply Vulnerabilities.
Climate represents general conditions in a particular region over a period of time. Weather happens on a day-to-day basis.
Drought is not unusual in New Mexico. But unlike in the past, when changes in long-term, large-scale precipitation patterns drove drought in the Southwest, changes in temperature will drive drought in the future.