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Effective URL: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/08/15/opinion/droughts-arent-new-normal-theyll-worsen-unless-we-address-climate-crisis/
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DOES THIS MEAN MASSACHUSETTS WILL LOOK MORE LIKE THE WEST? By Juliette N. Rooney-Varga and Mathew BarlowUpdated August 15, 2022, 3:00 a.m. Email to a Friend Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPrint this Article Water levels at certain points in the Charles River were at an all-time low, as seen at Millennium Park on Aug. 4. Most of Massachusetts is now experiencing a critical drought.Erin Clark/Globe Staff Massachusetts’ current drought, the third in only 10 years, is rapidly worsening. Most of the state is in critical drought conditions and Boston’s 2022 rainfall is almost 9 inches below average. Streams are running low, farmers’ yields are impacted, and air quality is worse than normal. In the western United States, drought conditions are becoming the norm. Reservoirs are evaporating and forest fire “season” is now year-round — not to mention the devastating impact on homeowners. Utah’s Great Salt Lake has reached its lowest levels ever recorded and, as a result, is at risk of releasing dangerous contaminants from its dried beds. In California’s Central Valley, drought cost farmers $1.2B in 2021 alone. Recent West Coast fires led to poor air quality and impacted public health as far east as Massachusetts. Read full article Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Haze from California wildfires obstructed views along the Charles River as it covered the Boston area on July 26, 2021.Christiana Botic for The Boston Globe Human-caused climate change is fueling rising temperatures and worsening droughts across the nation. Does this mean Massachusetts will look more like the West? Get Weekend Reads from Ideas A weekly newsletter from the Boston Globe Ideas section, forged at the intersection of 'what if' and 'why not.' Enter Email Sign Up As the West continues to dry out, climate trends may cause major shifts in regional ecosystems, agriculture, and human populations. But here, warmer air means more weather whiplash. Like a bucket, when air reaches its capacity to hold water, it rains. As air warms, that bucket gets bigger: It takes more water to fill it up, leading to drought. When it reaches saturation, there is more water to spill, causing more intense precipitation. The result is swinging from the rain storms that inundated the state last summer to our current drought and simultaneous devastating floods in eastern Kentucky. In Massachusetts, climate change is increasing both droughts and annual rainfall. But weather whiplash also means a less desirable water supply. Drought-stressed trees are vulnerable to being damaged or uprooted during severe storms, destabilizing soils, and worsening erosion. Severe storms also generate more surface runoff, leaving less water to filter through soils and replenish groundwater and carrying soil into aquatic ecosystems. Worse, in suburban and urban areas, impervious surfaces like asphalt increase runoff, washing pollutants from roads into streams, rivers, and lakes. Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dracut farmer David Dumaresq the 2022 drought is one of the worst he’s seen. He said on July 28 that he's waiting wait to see if a field’s second crop of corn will grow enough without water to be worth harvesting.Lane Turner/Globe Staff We can each play a role in conserving water during a drought by taking simple steps that, collectively, can make a difference, such as: * Limit outdoor watering to before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. and by using hand-held hoses to water ornamental plants only. Allowing our lawns to grow longer during mild droughts and go dormant during more significant ones saves water. In the longer term, planning for more sustainable ground cover, such as microclover, wildflowers, and indigenous plants, rather than cultivating thirsty grass, which fosters better water and landscape resiliency. * Conserve water indoors by taking advantage of Massachusetts’ energy and water efficiency programs, which provide free low-flow faucets to residents. Turn off water when scrubbing dishes — or better yet run a full dishwasher. The same goes for laundry. * Install rain barrels under downspouts to collect water for outdoor flower pots, filling birdbaths, and indoor plants. Many communities now offer rain barrels to residents at discounted rates. Yet worsening droughts and other impacts of climate change demand leadership and commitment at the state level and beyond. A University of Massachusetts report that we and others from the UMass Lowell Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy coauthored found 89 percent of the state’s municipalities view climate adaptation and resilience planning as a priority. From protecting forests to building green infrastructure, there are many ways Massachusetts communities can respond to and prepare for intensifying droughts and floods. But we need to do more, we need to stop their cause. The science underpinning climate change is clear: burning coal, oil, fossil gas, and wood emits heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As long as these fuels are used, carbon dioxide is emitted and builds up in the atmosphere, trapping more heat. Massachusetts’ goals of halving emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050 aim to do the state’s part. The Massachusetts climate act that was signed into law on Thursday is an important step. It makes it clear that burning wood to produce electricity worsens climate change and it prevents new wood-fired plants from getting renewable energy subsidies. It ensures that the state will invest in clean energy research and workforce development. It bans the sale of new gas-powered vehicles after 2035, increases rebates on most electric vehicles, and provides additional rebates for lower-income residents. And it supports important pilot projects, such as innovative and efficient networked geothermal heating systems, or GeoMicroDistricts, and fossil-free real estate development. Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do we think it is enough to meet science-based climate goals? No. But, together with support from the federal Inflation Reduction Act, Massachusetts is now building momentum toward a new climate economy that will bring jobs, energy security, and cleaner air to the Commonwealth. It’s up to all of us to channel that momentum into more ambitious climate leadership, inspire other states and nations to act, and stop droughts and other extreme events from getting worse. Juliette N. Rooney-Varga, is the director of the Climate Change Initiative and co-director of the Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Mathew Barlow is a professor of climate science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Climate Change Initiative. GLOBE OPINION follow us Share on TwitterShare on Facebook Share on Instagram Globe Op-Talk: A Fair Shot? How to achieve COVID-19 vaccine equity in MassachusettsShareSHARE Subtitle Settings Font Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small Caps Font Size Default X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-Large Font Edge Default Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light Bold Font Color Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua Orange Default 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% Background Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua Orange Default 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% Play 52:07 Skip Black and Latinx people have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, but haven’t been properly prioritized to get vaccinated. What can be done? * NOW PLAYING Globe Op-Talk: A Fair Shot? How to achieve COVID-19 vaccine equity in Massachusetts * Globe Op-Talk: Can Boston be the Silicon Valley of longevity? * Globe Op-Talk: The Democratic agenda in the new Congress * NOW PLAYING Globe Op-Talk: A Fair Shot? How to achieve COVID-19 vaccine equity in Massachusetts * Globe Op-Talk: Can Boston be the Silicon Valley of longevity? * Globe Op-Talk: The Democratic agenda in the new Congress SEE MORE VIDEOS MOST READ IN GLOBE OPINION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Politics and revenge in the race for attorney general 2. Andrea Campbell for attorney general 3. The breakaway LIV Golf League is an affront to the game’s bedrock values 4. What if busloads of migrants from Texas came to Boston? 5. Is Massachusetts prepared for COVID-19 safety in the classroom? 6. The Munich massacre, 50 years on 7. Mo. district’s return to spanking strikes longtime teacher as unfathomable 8. Two coalitions, two views on immigrants and driver’s licenses 9. Biden’s student loan debt plan is driven by politics, not economics 10. Beware: A more aggressive IRS is on the way GLOBE OPINION COLUMNISTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Scot Lehigh Potential political surprises ahead in state Democratic primary races * Joan Vennochi Politics and revenge in the race for attorney general * Renée Graham With the midterms, a season of sore losers awaits * Jeff Jacoby The Munich massacre, 50 years on * Abdallah Fayyad Wu’s stubborn optimism is exactly what this transit crisis needs * Kimberly Atkins Stohr Biden’s student loan debt relief isn’t just fair, it’s a good first start * Marcela García What if busloads of migrants from Texas came to Boston? * Rachelle Cohen Ageism in health care? Yep, it’s a thing. MORE ON GLOBE.COM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW IT STARTED VS. HOW IT’S GOING: WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT COVID-19 As the sun sets on the third summer of the pandemic, here are a few things we thought we knew about COVID-19 at the start — and how they compare to with what we have learned since. AS GOSSIP ABOUT TOM BRADY’S 11-DAY ABSENCE CONTINUES, ONE PECULIAR EXPLANATION KEEPS CROPPING UP Seriously, did the GOAT miss all that practice with the Bucs because he’s going to be on a Fox singing competition? As the rumors continue to swirl, here's what we know. SURGING RENTS, TIGHT INVENTORY COULD MAKE MOVING DAY WORSE THIS YEAR: ‘THE WHOLE THING IS A THORN IN THE SIDE OF BOSTON’ This season, between Boston’s red-hot housing market and the snarled-up roads and rails, the annual Great Beantown Move could be even worse than usual. A RIGHT-WING AGITATOR WHO ATTENDED JAN. 6 RIOT IS RUNNING FOR THE MASS. HOUSE, TESTING STATE GOP’S APPETITE FOR EXTREMISM Nominating Samson Racioppi would solidify the MassGOP’s hardline position in a year when some of its endorsed candidates for statewide office have embraced Trump’s falsehoods about election fraud and made vulgar, baseless claims about sex education in public schools. Twins 4, Red Sox 2 TWO MOMENTS VS. THE TWINS SHOWED EXACTLY WHY THE RED SOX APPEAR DESTINED FOR A LAST-PLACE FINISH The Red Sox stranded nine baserunners and have lost six of their last eight. OPINION POLITICS AND REVENGE IN THE RACE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL Michelle Wu, Elizabeth Warren, and Kim Janey are ditching all their equity happy talk to support Shannon Liss-Riordan over Andrea Campbell. ‘IT SOUNDS LIKE I DON’T WANT TO VOTE FOR EITHER OF THEM’: CONTROVERSY DEFINES SUFFOLK DA’S RACE With little more than a week to go before primary day, voters find themselves contemplating two Suffolk district attorney candidates buffeted by scandal. dan shaughnessy FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS COMING TO TOWN, HERE IS A GUIDE TO THE LOCAL SPORTS SCENE We'll get you freshmen oriented with the inside info on the local teams, the Boston fans, and the media coverage. EDITORIAL ANDREA CAMPBELL FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL The former Boston city councilor has the skills to run the office well — and the vision to make it better. MOST READ IN THIS SECTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOVERNMENT TO SUSPEND PROGRAM THAT DISTRIBUTED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF FREE, AT-HOME COVID-19 TESTS OMICRON BOOSTER SHOTS COULD BE READY NEXT MONTH. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. 7,952 CONFIRMED CASES AND 38 DEATHS IN A WEEK. SEE THE LATEST COVID-19 DATA FROM MASS. CDC DROPS QUARANTINE, DISTANCING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COVID-19 FAUCI WAS FORCED TO MISS HIS DAUGHTER’S WEDDING BECAUSE HE HAD COVID Follow Us SUBSCRIBE NOW Digital Access Home Delivery Gift Subscriptions MY ACCOUNT Log In Manage My Account Customer Service CONTACT Help & FAQs Staff List Advertise MORE Newsletters View the ePaper Order Back Issues News in Education Search the Archives Privacy Policy Terms of Service Terms of Purchase Work at Boston Globe Media Do Not Sell My Personal Information ©2022 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC logo-white Created with Sketch. 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