California Reports On Dire Impacts of Climate Change, Fights Back by Becoming First State to Require Solar Panels on New Homes

https://weather.com/science/environment/news/2018-05-10-california-climate-change-report-solar-panels-new-homes

By Pam Wright
May 9, 2018

Average night temperatures have risen, spring runoff from the Sacramento River has decreased, more wildfires are blazing and glaciers are shrinking in the Sierra Nevadas. All these are the dire impacts of climate change happening in California, according to a new report released Wednesday by the state's Environmental Protection Agency.

To be sure, the details of the report are disturbing, but the state is not taking the news lying down. Instead, it is continuing to lead the fight against human-caused climate change by imposing new measures to curb harmful greenhouse emissions.

On the same day the 350-page "Indicators of Climate Change in California" report was released, the California Energy Commission unanimously voted to approve measures requiring solar panels on all new homes, condos and multi-family buildings up to three stories high beginning in 2020. The requirement is a historic first in the United States and is in keeping with the state's ambitious zero net energy goals to reduce greenhouse emissions.

The report tracks 36 climate indicators and compiles research from numerous studies and scientists. The authors concluded that "climate change is not just a theory" but is "a real, immediate, and growing threat to California’s future."

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The most dramatic impacts include wildfires that are larger and more frequent, and the most severe drought since recordkeeping began.

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One of the more disturbing findings, the scientists note, is the increase in the average nighttime temperatures, which have increased by 2.3 degrees over the past century.

Other findings in the report include:

• An increase in extreme heatwaves and accompanying droughts since 1950

• A 9 percent decrease in snowpack since 1906.

• The Sierra Nevada's largest glaciers shrunk by up to 70 percent.

• Lake Tahoe warmed by one degree since 1970 and has warmed 10 times faster over the past four years.

• The mean sea level in San Francisco has risen 7 inches since 1924.

• Oxygen depletion has also been detected in the water off San Diego.

• The five largest fire years since 1950 have all occurred since 2006.

Despite the litany of dire impacts presented in the report, the state has had some success in efforts to combat climate change by reducing harmful emissions, Rodriquez said.

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