4:22 PM Mon, Mar 05, 2007 | Permalink
April Warnecke
E-mail
|
As Arizonans, we're used to warm weather. But it's hard for me to imagine this place getting even hotter.
Global warming means that Arizona, like other places, will warm a few degrees in the next 50-100 years. We will adapt by cranking up the air conditioning, spending more time indoors and finding other ways to keep cool. But it may not be so easy for animals to adapt to a changing climate.
I recently did a story for 3TV about the affects of global warming on Arizona and learned some pretty interesting stuff. We know the earth is warming; what we don't know is how that will affect precipitation patterns. Almost all forecast models show Arizona with less snowpack. Some models show the state getting higher-than-average rainfall in the future, but most models predict we'll get a lot less. Whether we get more or less, it's likely that our rainfall will be more erradic. Again, we'll probably be able to adjust to this, but animals may find it impossible.
Talking with biologist Randy Babb at Arizona Game and Fish, I learned that quail are dependent on the monsoon. If the rain starts shifting and comes at a different time of the year, the quail may not be able to get enough green plant feed to be reproductive when they should be reproductive. They may not be flexible enough to adapt their breeding cycle to take advantage of rainfall at another time.
Saguaro germination is also tied to the summer monsoon. If the rainy season changes, Babb says you may not have any saguaro recruitment. We could see saguaros begin to die off, with no young ones coming up to replace them.
When I asked Babb how it made him feel to think of these changes, he compared it to losing a loved one. As a biologist, he is very passionate about the Sonoran desert and the plants and animals that live here. But I think all of us would be sad to imagine these changes, even if they occur in our childrens' or grandchildrens' lifetime.
So what can we do? We can start by cutting back on the carbon dioxide we put into the air every day. Here are a few ideas; you can easily find more on the internet.
Buy a hybrid car. The average driver could save 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by drivintg a hybrid. But even just buying a more fuel-efficent car could save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide, not to mention a lot of money.
Plant a tree. Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make the air cleaner for us to breathe. Plus, if you plant a tree that shades your house, you could end up using less energy to cool your home.
Be energy-efficient. Weatherize your home, only run your dishwasher when it's full, and adjust your thermostat a few degrees.
Take shorter showers. Showers account for two-thirds of all water heating costs. Saving water is something we should be doing anyway, since we're in the middle of a drought....a drought that could possibly get worse with global warming.
April-
I think it's cool you all post blogs! I'm not a blogger but it's neat to see the other thoughts and interests of our reporters!
I'm also as an Arizona native, 32 years, and I can remember sitting in front of my window in the Tempe house I grew up in while the monsoons started pouring rain. It seemed like all day it would rain as I would watch our large dirt and cactus front yard fill up with water.
It seems like these monsoons never occur anymore and it's a bummer! I now live in Gilbert, the town in which I always made fun of..no comment! But Tempe grew too much to my liking and so did the Chandler and Awahatukee(sp?)areas.
I often think with all the relocating of folks here to AZ, doesn't that play a big factor in all that you mentioned above? Less plants, desert land for animals, ect. I used to see coyotes for years across the street in acres of open fields that scurried across my path when I ran during the evenings, and howled at night. That howling was the best sound I could fall asleep to. Now they're gone because they just tore it up for new homes. Where did thy go? Well I saw one running through the neighborhood a few months ago- nice.
I know places in AZ where I never thought people would ever live in now have vast communities of homes. I honestly think this explosion of building and land development has more damage on our environment than the monsoons here. But I do all I can to cut back on energy wasting and water wasting, but then so many people move here and just consume more!
Sorry if I sound bitter, it's not that I don't have great friends that moved here from other states, but it hurts me to see my great state now another LA brewing. It seems like an endless battle to conserve on my part.
Oh yea, can there be some story on this so called "Drought" we've been hearing now for years? If it's so important then why do golf courses, fake community lakes, Tempe Town so called Lake, and other water wasting ideas keep getting built?
Anyway, keep up the great news!
John
I am glad you reported about Global Warming. because the matter is becoming more and more important for people to know. and even more important for us who live in the valley, because like you said our enviorment is at risk. but anyway i would just like to thank you for spreading the news about Global Warming. :)
P.S. i was watching Good Morning!Arizona maybe 2 to 3 weeks ago and your family came to the RV show and celebrated your B-Day. so i just wanted to say Happy Birthday April! :)
from Carly
Hey.. I have an idea!! How about this..STOP BLACKTOPPING THE DESERT!!
Stop building huge shopping centers every 2 miles, stop the California and the Arizona developers from building on and tearing up every empty parcel of land to build either a huge house or 2000 small homes that are so close to each other that you could hear your neighbor sneeze. I think the ideas about the warming were excellent. Thank you for allowing me to vent.