Denver, Colorado— As we approach the final weeks of the presidential campaign,
Environment Colorado released a new report documenting that temperatures are on
the rise across Colorado with Denver setting a record for the number of 90
degree days. According to the National
Climatic Data Center, 2007 tied for the second warmest year on record globally
and was the 10th warmest year on record in the United States. These record temperatures are part of a trend
toward rising temperatures resulting from global warming.
"We're feeling the heat.
Every year Colorado
is rewriting the records on high temps," said Keith Hay, energy advocate at
Environment Colorado. "Rising temperatures is one race we cannot afford to
win. We need to start working today on
solutions to cut global warming pollution."
According to NASA, seven of
the eight warmest years on record globally occurred between 2001 and 2007. These above-average temperatures led
Environment Colorado to more closely examine recent temperature trends here in Colorado.
"Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising
Temperatures in the United States"
compares government temperature data for the years 2000-2007 with the
historical average, or "normal," temperature for the preceding 30 years, 1971-2000.
Our data were collected at 255 weather
stations – those with the highest quality data – in all 50 states and Washington, DC.
Key findings for Colorado
include:
- In 2007, the
average temperature in Colorado
Springs was 2.1°F above normal.
- Above-average
temperatures in Alamosa, Colorado
Springs, and Grand Junction
in 2007 are part of a warming trend.
Between 2000 and 2007, the average temperature was over 2°F above the
historical average in each of those cities.
Nationally, the average temperature during this eight-year period was at
least 0.5°F above normal at nearly 90 percent of the weather stations.
- In 2007, Pueblo experienced
average maximum temperatures — the highest temperatures recorded on a given day
— of 2.5°F above normal.
- Over the course
of 2007, Denver
experienced 54 days where the temperature hit at least 90°F, which is 20 days more
than the historical average. Extreme
heat can have serious implications for human health, causing heat stroke, heat
exhaustion, and even death.
- Colorado Springs experienced average minimum temperatures — the lowest
temperatures recorded on a given day, usually at night — of 2.3°F above normal
in 2007. Warmer nighttime summer
temperatures exacerbate the public health effects of extreme heat, since people
need cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from excessive heat exposure
during the day.
Gary Graham, Executive
Director of Colorado Audubon stated, "While one or two degrees may not seem
like much, any parent with a sick child knows that even a small rise in
temperature can have a big effect. Here in Colorado rising temperatures will mean more wildfires, a loss native fish, bird and game habitats and
with them a Western way of life."
A recent Bush Administration
report said "it is very likely" that more people will die in the United States
during extremely hot periods in the future.
In addition, the report identified: water shortages from early snowmelt,
degraded air quality, wildfires, heat waves, and drought as particular risks
for Colorado and the Intermountain West.
"We’re at a crossroads on
energy, and it's up to the next President to choose a new path that curbs
global warming and helps recharge our struggling economy," said Senator Brandon
Shaffer (D-Longmont). "Colorado is showing the
way forward to repowering America
with clean, green electrons. By building wind farms in wheat fields and putting
solar on rooftops, we are cutting global warming pollution and bringing good
paying green jobs."
According to the latest
climate science, the United
States and the world must break its
dependence on fossil fuels and transition rapidly to 100 percent clean,
renewable energy if we hope to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global
warming.
"There is no question that
the Earth is warming. Leading world scientists agree that the evidence of
global warming is "unequivocal" and that human activities are responsible for
most of the increase in global average temperatures. Burning fossil fuels to power cars, homes,
and industry produces most U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide that are causing
this warming,"according to Dr. Kevin Trenberth, the Head of the Climate
Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in
Boulder and a lead author on the fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) assessment.
Recently, more than 150
members of Congress, including Representative Diana DeGette, endorsed strong
principles for action on energy and global warming. Environment Colorado urges that those
principles be the blueprint for action for the next President and Congress.
"We commend Congresswoman
DeGette for her leadership on this critical issue. And we urge the rest of Colorado’s
congressional delegation to support strong science-based legislation that would
put the United States on track to solving global warming," concluded Hay.
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Environment Colorado Research &
Policy Center is a
501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to protecting Colorado’s air, water, and open spaces. We
investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public and decision makers,
and help Coloradans make their voices heard in local, state and national
debates over the quality of our environment and our lives.
