Arid lands are projected to expand substantially in the area between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. By contrast, mountainous regions, especially the Rockies, could experience more rainfall, with an upsurge in landslides and attendant sedimentation into streams. The consequences of global warming may be severe, but the situation is not hopeless. The United States possesses the technology to slow global warming and thus the effects of climate change. Clean fuels and propulsion systems are available to power transportation.
Renewable energy is ready to supply the needs of our homes, offices, and utilities.
And electric utility deregulation is making it easier for each of us to choose those technologies that contribute less carbon to the atmosphere. If we start to act now to limit carbon emissions, we can stall global warming and thereby forestall the worst consequences of climate change. Darren Goetze is a UCS staff scientist. Elizabeth Farnsworth, a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Smith College, is a UCS consultant on climate change.