The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN body charged with
assessing the scientific record on global warming, recently concluded
that the evidence that the climate is warming is "unequivocal."
This
warming has local, regional and global effects. The impacts of global
warming in Arizona are likely to include less available drinking water
due to increased evaporation and changing weather patterns; an increase
in heat waves and extreme high-temperature days resulting in an
increased risk of heat related illness and death; more fuel for
wildfires during hotter drier summers; and a decline in the number of
farmed acres and other adverse affects on Arizona's agricultural
economy.
Most global warming pollution comes from burning oil,
coal and natural gas to fuel cars, cool and heat homes, and power
businesses. Reducing our dependence on these polluting sources by using
more home-grown renewable energy will allow Arizona to achieve a
greater degree of energy independence.
