Jeanette Strong: An extinction-level event

“This is what watching an extinction event looks like. If we have two or three more years of this kind of hydrology coupled with these management decisions, we’re not going to have any salmon. … this is climate change. Climatologists have been telling us for years to get ready and this is where we are.” (Humboldt, Calif., Times-Standard, May 15, 2021)

Heat and drought in the southwest United States are nothing new. What’s new is the unusual severity of these conditions. There are thousands of examples of the destruction inflicted by global warming. Here are just a few.

Extreme heat: The last decade had nine of the hottest 10 years ever, with 2016 the hottest year on record, and 2015 and 2017 second and third. Since heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths, this demonstrates a life-threatening pattern.

In 2019, the Desert Research Institute presented its findings regarding heat and health in the International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. “It looked at the relationship between summer heat and heat related deaths in Las Vegas. It found that from 2007 through 2016 the number of deaths increased with the frequency and intensity of heat waves in June, July and August.” (Reno Gazette-Journal, June 10, 2019)

Drought: “The dry spell that began at the dawn of this century, and has persisted for nearly two decades, is one for the ages. Scientists call this a megadrought, one of the worst in nearly 500 years….Lake Mead… has sunk to near its lowest level since it was filled.” (New York Times, May 14)

“(Lake Mead) holds water for cities, farms and tribal lands in Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico. Years of unrelenting drought and temperatures pushed higher by climate change are shrinking the flow into the lake. … the watershed is now so parched and depleted that Mead is projected to continue dropping next year and into 2023. … Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the country, now stands at just 36% of full capacity…. In just 12 months, the lake’s level has dropped nearly 20 vertical feet.” (Arizona Republic, June 11)

Northern Nevada is also affected. “The Lake Tahoe Basin could get as much as 9 degrees warmer on average in the coming decades due to human-caused global warming. The hotter temperatures will have ramifications for everything from the health of the basin’s namesake lake to effectiveness of critical human infrastructure such as roads and sewers.” (Reno Gazette Journal, July 24, 2019)

Farther north, on the California-Oregon border, the Klamath River basin is experiencing unprecedented water shortages. Water for farms and ranches is scarce. Salmon are dying at an alarming rate, harming the fishing industry and the tribal cultures which depend on the salmon.

Craig Ticker, a spokesman for the Karuk tribe, said, “It’s an absolute catastrophe for the ag community but it’s a pretty damn big catastrophe for fishing communities too….With such a scarcity of water, it’s like there are no rules for a year this bad…. it’s almost like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It just may go down as the driest year in Klamath Basin history, particularly in the upper basin. The water is just not showing up.” (Humboldt, Calif., Times-Standard, May 15)

More consequences of global warming include an increase in the number and severity of wildfires in the West, tornadoes in the Midwest, and hurricanes in the Southeast. Ignoring the crisis is not an option. We must recognize how serious the problem is and then work towards solutions.

Felicia Marcus, a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West program, offered an analogy for this crisis: “The house is on fire and we’re still rearranging the furniture and thinking about, you know, do we want to redecorate the kitchen?” (Arizona Republic, June 11)

At a House hearing on June 8, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, suggested a possible solution. “We know there’s been significant solar flare activities. Um ... and so is there anything that the National Forest Service or (Bureau of Land Management) can do to, uh, change the course of the Moon’s orbit or the Earth’s orbit around the Sun? Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate.” (The Guardian, June 9)

Once again, science lies just beyond the grasp of Republicans. Perhaps Gohmert thought that shrinking the moon in the animated film “Despicable Me” was a documentary. We are facing a real catastrophe needing real answers. We must insist that our elected officials take this seriously. Our lives literally depend on it.

Jeanette Strong, whose column appears every other week, is a Nevada Press Association award-winning columnist. She may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.