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John Daley Reporting New research shows Utah is getting warmer at a rate that's faster than initially thought. Scientists say that's just one more sign of startling changes they're observing all over the globe.
Anyone who lives in the West knows our snow packs aren't what they used to be. Rising temperatures mean what used to fall as snow now often falls as rain. And scientists gathering here in Utah for a conference say we should prepare for more.
Consider extreme weather events like last year's spectacular floods in Southern Utah, shrinking mountain snow packs in the Rockies, Katrina and increased hurricane activity, melting ice sheets at the poles pushing polar bears to the brink. These are all fingerprints of global climate change, according to national experts brought together for this U of U conference.
Henry Pollack/ Prof. of Geophysics. Uni. of Michigan: "Climate change is real. That it's accelerating and it's going to have consequences that aren't all together comfortable."
Scientists are sounding increasingly urgent alarms on a variety of fronts, from melting ice sheets at the poles, to rising temperatures and sea levels, to dramatic changes in the high country of the West.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has charted global climate trends, finding the world is warming, particularly in the last 30 years.
A recent analysis of Utah's temperature data shows warming is accelerating in Utah--up 3 degrees in just the past 30 years. Rise in precipitation is up 12% in a century.
Fred Wagner/ Prof. Emeritus/ Utah State University: "Things are going to get hotter. Our summers are going to get much warmer. Our winters are going to be milder. We're going to see snow packs in the mountain ranges shrinking, and that's happening over the West as a whole."
In the Arctic, the changes are coming even faster. Consider the loss of sea ice just in the last 30 years.
Mark Serreze/ Senior Research Scientist/ Uni. of Colorado: "We've lost an area of sea ice roughly the size of the state of Alaska."
As changes from around the globe add up, researchers say they see changes in public opinion.
Henry Pollack/ Prof. of Geophysics/ Univ. of Michigan: "I think we're close to a tipping point in term of public awareness of climate change and that humans are playing a big role in it."
Lana Pollack/ Michigan Environmental Council: "And there is a change in attitude. A lot of that is coming from big industry."
In the short run, scientists say conservation will help buy us time so that alternative energy sources can be developed for the long run.
