New York Times (July 10)
“California is in the third year of its worst drought in decades. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at how much water the state’s residents and businesses are using.” Nearly half a year ago, the State called for a 20% reduction in water use, but so far actual savings have been closer to 5% and, “in some parts of the state, like the San Diego area, water use has actually increased from 2013.” California needs to urgently take “much stronger conservation measures.”
Tags: California, Conservation, Drought, Reduction, Residents, San Diego, Savings, Water, Water use
The Los Angeles Times (January 26, 2014)
After three years of severe drought, Californians are being asked to cut water usage by 20%. The drought, billed as the worst in over a century, “serves as a reminder of the urgent need for action—to plan, to conserve, to store, to reuse, to transport and to share the state’s most precious resource.”
Tags: Action, California, Conserve, Drought, Plan, Reminder, Reuse, Severe, Share Resources, Store, Transport, Urgent need, Usage, Water
New York Times (September 23)
The U.S. “has made commendable progress in reducing its emissions, and is halfway toward meeting Mr. Obama’s pledge at the Copenhagen climate summit meeting in 2009 to reduce its emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.” Globally, however, progress is not being made. “Steadily increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, rising sea levels, more violent weather events, persistent droughts…. The burden on the United States to set a positive example is as heavy as ever.”
Time (October 23)
“We’re in the final few months of what’s shaping up to be the hottest year on record. In September, Arctic sea ice melted to its smallest extent in satellite records, while the Midwest was rocked by a once-in-a-generation level drought. Global carbon dioxide emissions hit a record high in 2011 of 34.83 billion tons, and they will almost certainly be higher this year….Given all that, it might seem reasonable to think that climate change —and how the U.S. should respond to it — would be among the top issues of the 2012 presidential election.” Instead, climate change has gone largely unmentioned.
Tags: Arctic, Climate change, CO2, Drought, Presidential election, U.S.