If you need more evidence of the extent to which climate change can produce unexpected impacts on water resources, take a look at this story, summarizing the conclusions of Britain’s Environment Agency that one third of the rivers in Britain are already at risk of running dry and that flow in some areas could decline by 80 percent by 2050. The two major factors are a growing population and a warming climate.
Think about that. Rivers running dry in England – the Misty Isles. Here in California, we have long known that climate change will have profound water-related impacts, ranging from lost snowpack and reduced total runoff to more intense flood-causing storms and threats to trout, salmon and other species. You can read NRDC’s report on these impacts here.
In the past year, California has taken major steps to ensure the reliability of our water supplies and the restoration of our aquatic resources. But there’s a glaring hole in these efforts – the lack of a national program to rein in climate change. Earlier this week, Senators Kerry and Lieberman released their draft climate bill. You can read a detailed initial summary of that bill here.
With the release of this bill and the start of the debate in the Senate, it’s appropriate to reflect on the importance of a federal climate bill from a water perspective. After all, in the American West, water is where climate change is hitting the ground. The draft bill is a solid start for the Senate debate. However, unfortunately, as drafted, that bill would not allocate any funds to help the nation’s arid states adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change on our water supplies. That’s something NRDC will be working to change as this debate moves forward.
Remember, the debate about a federal climate bill is about more than ice caps and polar bears. The implications of that debate are as close as your kitchen faucet.
