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CONSERVATION GROUPS’ COMMENTS <br />UNCOMPAHGRE FIELD OFFICE RMP AND DEIS <br />8 <br />Third National Climate Assessment, stating: “That the planet has warmed is ‘unequivocal,’ and <br />is corroborated through multiple lines of evidence, as is the conclusion that the causes are very <br />likely human in origin.”18 With particular regard to the Southwest Region—which includes <br />Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California—the National Climate <br />Assessment included in the following overview:19 <br /> <br />• Snowpack and streamflow amounts are projected to decline in parts of the <br />Southwest, decreasing surface water supply reliability for cities, agriculture, <br />and ecosystems. <br />• The Southwest produces more than half of the nation’s high-value specialty <br />crops, which are irrigation-dependent and particularly vulnerable to extremes <br />of moisture, cold, and heat. Reduced yields from increasing temperatures and <br />increasing competition for scarce water supplies will displace jobs in some <br />rural communities. <br />• Increased warming, drought, and insect outbreaks, all caused by or linked to <br />climate change, have increased wildfires and impacts to people and <br />ecosystems in the Southwest. Fire models project more wildfire and increased <br />risks to communities across extensive areas. <br />• Flooding and erosion in coastal areas are already occurring even at existing <br />sea levels and damaging some California coastal areas during storms and <br />extreme high tides. Sea level rise is projected to increase as Earth continues to <br />warm, resulting in major damage as wind-driven waves ride upon higher seas <br />and reach farther inland. <br />• Projected regional temperature increases, combined with the way cities <br />amplify heat, will pose increased threats and costs to public health in <br />southwestern cities, which are home to more than 90% of the region’s <br />population. Disruptions to urban electricity and water supplies will exacerbate <br />these health problems. <br />Immediate and substantial greenhouse gas reductions are required to avoid catastrophic <br />impacts to people and communities. “Following the warmest year on record in 2014 according to <br />most estimates, 2015 reached record warmth yet again, surpassing the previous record by more <br />than 0.1°C.”20 <br /> <br /> <br />18 Jerry M. Melillo, et al., Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National <br />Climate Assessment (2014) at 61, available at: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov (attached as <br />Exhibit 6). 19 See id. at 463-86. 20 American Meteorological Society, State of the Climate in 2015, Vol.97, No.8 (Aug. 2016), at <br />S7 (attached as Exhibit 7).