WRA has drawn upon the expertise of many esteemed colleagues and highly regarded organizations in developing this portion of our website. We thank all of the entities whose links add to and reinforce the information posted here. WRA urges you to learn more about these organizations and the excellent work they are doing to curtail climate change.
Climate Change
Climate change is a very real phenomenon that is already affecting our lives and our communities in tangible ways. The fact that climate change is occurring is not in dispute among climate scientists. It is also well understood that climate change is being caused by human activity (anthropogenic) and is not due to natural cycles.
Our reliance upon fossil fuels for energy is the primary cause of human-induced climate change. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas buried inside the earth sequester enormous amounts of carbon that have been locked away for millions of years. By burning fossil fuels, carbon is converted into carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses that accumulate in the upper atmosphere. So much carbon is being reintroduced into the atmosphere that it exceeds the rate that the earth can naturally reabsorb it. The resulting build-up of greenhouse gasses is causing our planet to retain heat, forcing the earth's climate to change.
While the damage already created cannot be undone, changing human activities now can reduce how much climate change this and future generations will have to live with.
Signs of Change
Proof of ongoing climate change often focuses on loss of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, and the rapid loss of glacial ice or mountain snows in Greenland, the Himalayas, and portions of Africa, Europe and North America. In your neighborhood, disturbing signs of change are evident too.
Climate changes are being witnessed by farmers and gardeners, foresters, fishermen, water managers, ski resort operators, wine makers, doctors, and researchers who study extreme weather events.
Climate change is here and the American West is not immune.