The chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change R.K Pachauri told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee January 30 that that the U.S. and other major emitters have only until 2015 to implement carbon reduction efforts to help stabilize temperatures around the globe. “I think we can avert the worst if we do the right things now,” said committee chair Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA). Higher temperatures for California and the West means less snow pack and consequently diminished water supplies, particularly in the dry summer months. Increased flooding also is likely to occur because warmer weather patterns are associated with extremely short-term precipitation events, the IPPC chair noted. There are also agricultural implications in and outside California, because increased heat can diminish crop yield The IPCC issued an updated comprehensive report that concluded that climate change is unequivocal and there is 90 percent certainty humans are the source of the recent temperature variations. Editors’ note: For a more detailed version of the IPPC story, please see our sister publication E=MC2 – Energy Meets Climate Challenge – energymeetsclimate.com.
