Warming Spring and Fall: Confirmed...Again
An average increase in minimum temperatures in late winter/early spring and in early fall is not new news, and this result has come from a wide variety of studies throughout the Rockies (and the rest of the West) - here is more confirmation from within Montana. Joseph Caprio, a professor emeritus in Montana State University's Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, along with two others (from Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Canada and the Desert Research Institute), authored a paper in Climatic Change, which shows that minimum temperatures are increasing at approximately 10% per decade.
General Audience Article: The Montana State University news service published this nice summary article about the Bozeman, MT and Coldstream, B.C research.
Journal Article: "A statistical procedure to determine recent climate change of extreme daily meteorological data as applied at two locations in Northwestern North America" in Climatic Change.
For those of you thinking about impacts, some potential impacts from this extended warm season include (among others):
- Earlier spring runoff, with potential risk for increased drought
Journal Aricle: "Twentieth century trends in runoff, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture in the Western United States", A.F. Hamlet et al., Journal of Climate, 2007.
- Impacts on flowering plants
Journal Article: "Effects of climate change on phenology, frost damage, and floral abundance of montane wildflowers", D.W. Inouye, Ecology, 2008.
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May 18-20 Conference to Explore Regional Climate Change
Municipal and business leaders across the Yellowstone-Teton region will be talking carbon reduction at Grand Teton National Park the same week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency holds its first hearings on the proposed ruling that greenhouse gases are air pollutants that should be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
The public is invited to join the Yellowstone Business Partnership (YBP) at its 6th annual conference, entitled All Systems Green: Working Together for Regional Efficiency and Prosperity, set for May 18-20, 2009, at Jackson Lake Lodge.
Headline speakers include keynote Dr. Steven Running of the University of Montana, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 as a chapter Lead Author for the 4th Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The featured banquet speaker is Dan Grossman, Regional Director for the Environmental Defense Fund, who will describe how a once litigious national organization has effectively partnered with major corporations to achieve environmental sustainability.
Also on the conference agenda are all five mayors from Greater Yellowstone cities who have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, highlighting their municipal energy efficiency projects and challenges. They include Mayor Roger Chase of Pocatello, Idaho; Jackson, Wyoming, Mayor Mark Barron; and three Montana mayors: Kaaren Jacobson of Bozeman, Elizabeth Scanlin of Red Lodge, and Ron Tussing of Billings.
For more information on the conference program and a special continuing education course for architects, planners and realtors, go to http://www.yellowstonebusiness.org/09Conference/home/ The online registration deadline is May 11, although late registrants may still attend for an extra fee. For more details or to register by phone, call YBP headquarters at 406-522-7809.
According to YBP Executive Director Jan Brown, “Six years ago when YBP was founded, few of our members could define the word ‘sustainability’ and even fewer businesses would apply the word ‘green’ to their operations. Today these are mainstream business terms, even here in the Northern Rockies. In the current recession, reducing waste, building green and using less energy can mean economic survival, and may give our businesses a competitive advantage with carbon reduction rules just around the corner.”
The YBP conference will also feature governor’s representatives from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, joining Tom Olliff, Yellowstone’s Chief of Science and Resource Management, on the plenary panel to “Survey the Political Landscape re: Climate Change.” Concurrent sessions will focus on energy-related subjects as well as waste recycling and recovery, all-season geotourism and an emerging regional transportation system. Speakers from the Idaho National Laboratory will share the latest on renewable energy applications and advanced energy systems for the 21st century.
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