ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Nunca antes había sido más importante reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, según un nuevo informe, aunque probablemente no será suficiente para evitar un futuro más cálido para el planeta Tierra. Científicos del Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático dijeron el lunes que la Tierra podría superar 1.5°C de calentamiento global en las próximas dos décadas.

El informe muestra que los esfuerzos para frenar las emisiones de combustibles fósiles se han retrasado tanto tiempo que no se puede evitar la intensificación del calentamiento global durante los próximos 30 años. No obstante, la científica climática Ilissa Ocko, del Fondo de Defensa Ambiental, dice que nunca es demasiado tarde para actuar.

"Cuanto antes actuemos y cuanto más rápido vayamos, mejor estaremos. Porque cada incremento de calor adicional que evitamos ayuda a reducir la intensidad y frecuencia de los eventos extremos y reduce el riesgo de un resultado catastrófico", añadió también Ocko.

El Departamento de Medio Ambiente de Nuevo México está trabajando para finalizar nuevas regulaciones que reduzcan el metano y la contaminación del aire debido a las operaciones de petróleo y gas mediante la implementación de reglas para eliminar la quema de rutina y reducir el desperdicio de gas natural.

El informe dice que se espera que los eventos climáticos extremos, incluidas las olas de calor y los incendios forestales como los de la costa oeste, empeoren y se vuelvan más frecuentes. Lisa DeVille, del Dakota Resource Council, vive en la reserva india de Fort Berthold en Dakota del Norte.

"Este año, el humo de los incendios forestales ha estado llenando nuestro aire y dañando nuestros pulmones. Estos impactos solo empeoraran si continuamos extrayendo combustibles fósiles y arrojando contaminación de carbono y metano al aire", comentó DeVille.

Rick Duke es un asistente especial del presidente para cambio climático. Dice que el informe anula cualquier debate restante sobre la urgente necesidad de reducir la contaminación por metano, especialmente de sectores como el petróleo y el gas, que por sí solos representan al menos el 25% del calentamiento. Sin embargo, señala que ya existe tecnología para reducir esas emisiones en un 75%.

"Incluso sin considerar la estabilidad climática, la salud pública o los beneficios de la productividad agrícola, la mayoría de estas estrategias de reducción de metano son muy asequibles, ya que convierten el metano de una corriente de desechos en productos valiosos como la electricidad", agregó también el asistente especial del presidente.

La Agencia de Protección Ambiental está preparada para proponer reglas en septiembre y reducir las emisiones de metano de las operaciones de petróleo y gas nuevas y existentes en todo el país, cuyo análisis muestra que podría reducir las emisiones en un 65%.

School buses are getting cleaner in Washington state after this year's legislative session.

Lawmakers in Olympia passed House Bill 1368, which will fund the purchase of zero emission school buses.

Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, said the program is getting off the ground quickly.

"As we work towards that long-term goal of all new school buses being zero emission, we're kick-starting this year with $40 million in grants to school districts in overburdened communities," Senn explained.

Going forward, Senn noted school districts will have to purchase zero-emission vehicles once the total cost of ownership is equal to or lower than the cost of diesel vehicles. The state is leveraging the state's Climate Commitment Act resources to fund the transition of its 10,000 school buses.

Devin Denney, director of transportation for Highline Public Schools in King County, which already has electric school buses in its fleet, said he has driven the electric buses and talked about some of their benefits from a driver's perspective.

"You're not competing against that engine noise, the kids aren't competing against the engine noise," Denney observed. "It's a much quieter bus all the way around. The major advantage, of course, is that there's no tailpipe emissions with an electric bus, so our kids' health is better protected."

Senn emphasized health studies have shown there are negative health effects from diesel vehicles for kids, and it is easy to understand why.

"If you think about kids waiting to get on their bus in front of an elementary school and you have this line of buses idling, letting out diesel fumes right at the height of a little child, it becomes obvious that this is probably not the most healthy thing for our children," Senn added.


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Today, in honor of Earth Day, climate advocates are asking California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to rally around a plan to put a $15 billion bond measure on the November ballot.

If passed, the bond measure would fund a range of climate resiliency measures.

Sam Hodder, president and CEO of the Save the Redwoods League, said March was the tenth month in a row to break monthly heat records.

"I think Earth Day is a terrific opportunity for the broader public to recognize how nature is critical for resilience, for our quality of life, for our mental and physical health, and for our communities more broadly," Hodder outlined.

Two similar bills to put a bond measure on the ballot are under consideration in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 1567 and Senate Bill 867, but they have been stalled since last summer. The bond would finance many programs, including some to restore wetlands that guard against sea-level rise, and to remove dead wood in forests to guard against mega-fires, which Hodder noted have killed 20% of the giant sequoias in recent years.

Opponents pointed out the state already faces a budget deficit and cannot afford to take on more debt. But only 5% of California's old-growth coastal redwoods remain, mostly due to aggressive logging many decades ago.

Hodder argued the giant trees can be critical ingredients in the fight against climate change because they trap so much carbon.

"Redwood forests sequester more carbon per acre than any other forest system in the world," Hodder emphasized. "We have the opportunity to transition the redwood forest from something that is vulnerable to climate change to something that is helping to solve and address the climate crisis."

Experts blame climate change for California's wild weather over the past few years, which has been marked by extreme drought, devastating fires and flooding rain.

A new report from the National Wildlife Federation warns that the effects of climate change in the Quad Cities, along the Iowa-Illinois border, will be severe.

But researchers got the public involved in studying to find ways to head off some of the most pressing concerns.

The report says climate change means a warmer, wetter future for the Quad Cities, which straddle the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois.

But rather than repeat what experts have already been saying about drastic flooding along the Big Muddy, Prairie Rivers Network River Health and Resiliency Organizer Nina Struss said researchers and Quad Cities residents brainstormed solutions to tackle the effects of climate change.

"Flooding and flash flooding were the top concerns," said Struss. "Extreme heat was also a big concern, as well as drought and other extreme weather events."

Researchers combined that information with hard science at the University of Illinois to create 3D models depicting what climate-induced flooding along the Mississippi could look like in the future.

The survey also asked people to identify which geographical areas and populations are most at risk from the effects of climate change, and worked with the community on solutions to mitigate some of them.

Struss said this research proposes what are known as nature-based solutions to combat the effects of climate change - restoring, preserving and even expanding existing ecosystems, like wetlands and tree canopies. But creating more eco-friendly infrastructure, too.

"Can we work to maybe have our pavements that we're putting in be more permeable, so that they can absorb that water and have that higher water-holding capacity?" said Struss. "Can we focus on areas to plant more native plants that have stronger root systems, versus ones that have shorter root systems, to help with that water-holding capacity?"

Struss said this research isn't a one-off. It will continue to change, she said, as the climate changes, the needs become more clear, and the effects more drastic.

She said progress in addressing climate change relies on more research, education and funding.




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