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Western governors to continue focus on global warming
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FarkDEADWOOD -- Global warming could mean water shortages and a "perfect storm" of wildfires in the western United States, a climate scientist told governors of Western states meeting in Deadwood.
The Western Governors' Association held its annual three-day conference here because Gov. Mike Rounds is outgoing chairman.
This year's theme was "Transitioning the West to clean energy and energy security."
Ten of 19 Western governors attended the conference, along with about 400 support staff and representatives from industry, business and nonprofit interest groups. That was a good turnout, organizers said, but only five governors remained for Tuesday's final global-warming presentation by two scientists.
"We could see wildfire areas double in the next half-century," Christopher Field told the group. Field is director of the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.
Water availability could be an even bigger problem, Field said -- not just because of drought but also because of increasing populations and reduced mountain snowpack, an important source of stored water.
Peter Kareiva, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, said his group was conducting "vulnerability analyses" for specific ecosystems and even specific species, such as salmon in Washington or ponderosa pines in New Mexico.
Gov. Rounds asked whether bug infested ponderosa-pine forests in the Black Hills might be climate-change victims that warranted protection.
Field and Kareiva didn't speculate on that theory, but they said there was no doubt human activity was accelerating global warming. "With the exception of some fringe organizations, there's no reputable scientific body that questions the core understanding of the way humans are changing the climate," Field said.
The Western Governors' Association agrees and says the West, where water is scarce and coal is plentiful, will feel the impacts.
"This has become the issue of our time," Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said. "It makes no sense for us to ignore what is essentially a 900-pound gorilla."
Freudenthal took over as association chairman Tuesday.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who will succeed Freudenthal as chairman next year, called climate change "THE most compelling issue for the West."
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said candidates for president should focus more on the issue. "We need a bigger national push," he said.
The federal government also should look "beyond emission reduction" for ways to adapt to climate change, Ariz. Gov. Janet Napolitano said.
In fact, the Western Governors' Association issued a four-page "policy resolution" calling for more federal help developing alternate energy sources and cleaner-burning coal-fired power plants.
Rounds said at least some of those pilot projects to develop coal should be in the West. "It certainly seems logical that there should have been at least one of those types of facilities located out here where the vast majority of our coal is at."
More federal support for climate adaptation was a recurring theme at the conference. "The federal government has to step up," Freudenthal said.
Huntsman, a Republican, and Ritter, a Democrat, both said in interviews after the session that President Bush had missed an opportunity at last week's G8 summit to take a leadership role in reducing carbon emissions. Bush agreed to "consider seriously" a European plan to cut in half world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
But all four governors at Tuesday's session also emphasized climate change was a nonpartisan issue. "I think you ought to be careful about slapping a lot of labels on this issue," said Freudenthal, a Democrat.
Energy suggestions from Western governors
The Western Governors' Association will focus on climate-change policies over the next two years. The association is calling for more federal support for:
* Increasing energy efficiency.
* Marketing alternative fuels.
* Developing cleaner coal-fired power plants.
* Increasing "carbon sequestration" to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
* Developing alternate fuels for transportation.
For more information go to www.westgov.org
Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com
Gov. Mike Rounds, outgoing chairman of the Western Governors' Association, inspects a custom Winchester .300-caliber Short Magnum rifle presented to him by incoming chairman Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal. The inscribed stock includes an image of Mount Rushmore. (Bill Harlan, Journal staff)
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