The Colby Fire and the California Drought…Two Reasons to Worry About Global Warming

The massive fire in the Angeles National Forest is a devastating consequence of the drought that is ravaging California. This fire broke out yesterday outside of Los Angeles, and it continues to rage across 1,700 acres of forest – an area the size of 1,280 football fields. 2,000 homes have been placed under a mandatory evacuation order. Extreme weather events like droughts – and the damage that they cause – will only get worse if our elected officials do not act to fight climate change.

Record droughts are happening today, and scientists know that these extreme weather events will become more severe if we do not act to stop global warming. Drought makes blazes like the Colby Fire increasingly likely to happen, and two-thirds of California is currently in drought. In fact, the year 2013 was the driest year on record in California. Recent droughts are also not unique to the Golden State. In 2012, the hottest year on record in the United States, 64 percent of the nation experienced moderate to exceptional drought, according to the National Climatic Data Center, making it the most widespread drought since at least 1956. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is likely that global warming has contributed to the severity and duration of drought in many regions and will likely contribute to more severe droughts in the future. 

We are not doing enough to combat this trend. The EIA announced that United States global warming pollution actually increased from 2012 to 2013, after years of decline.But we know which policies can put us back on track – we can support our country’s current boom in renewable energy, make our buildings more efficient, and make fossil-fuel free transit options accessible to the public. We cannot afford to wait for an even worse drought or wildfire – the time to act is now.