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Texas Regional Report ,[object Object],I have moved over a great part of Texas and I know that within its borders I have seen just about as many kinds of country, contour, climate and conformation as there are in the world  - John Steinbeck
General Climate Impacts ,[object Object],I have moved over a great part of Texas and I know that within its borders I have seen just about as many kinds of country, contour, climate and conformation as there are in the world  - John Steinbeck But now he is the King of Katy, TX He played college football in El Paso, TX AJ grew up on a farm in Mansfield, TX
The Big Hitters Drought Flooding Hurricanes Sea Level Rise
Drought
Drought From King of the Hill, Pilot Episode, 1997 Expected temperature rise: 3-10°F rise in winter lows and 3-7°F rise in summer highs. July heat index—a measure combining temperature and humidity to represent the temperature actually felt—could rise by 10-25°F. Dale, you giblet head, we live in Texas. It’s already 110 in the summer, and if it gets one degree hotter I’m gonna kick your ass! I say, let the world warm up…We’ll grow oranges in Alaska.
Drought ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Drought ,[object Object],Considered the “Worst Drought in the past 50 years”
Flooding ,[object Object],In 2002, a megaflood carved a 2.2km canyon in 3 days at a site now called Canyon Lake Gorge a little north of San Antonio
Flooding ,[object Object],[object Object],Hurricane Ike Flooding in Katy, TX (where AJ lives) Areas of vegetation are in Red Storm Surge Flooding wiped most of it out
Hurricanes ,[object Object]
Hurricanes ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Hurricanes ,[object Object],Tropical Storm Fay Fei means “flying” in Chinese Year Name Max Wind Speed (mph) 1993 T.S. Arlene 40  1995 T.S. Dean 45 1998 T.S. Charley 70 1998 T.S. Frances 65 1999 T.S. Storm Bret 55 2001 T.S. Allison 60 2002 T.S. Bertha 40 2002  T.S. Fay 60 2003 Claudette 80 2005 Rita 120 2008 Dolly (Tex Mex Border) 100 2008  Ike 110
Hurricanes ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Sea Level Rise ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Climate models project an average sea-level rise along the Gulf Coast ranging from over 8 to almost 20 inches in the next century.
Sea Level Rise
[object Object],Fei grew up in the ’burbs of Sugar Land, TX But she went to college in CA (ahem Go Bears! Ahem) Now she’s back to being a Houstonian Focus: Houston Impacts
Houston’s Regional Forest Report ,[object Object],[object Object]
HRF Report ,[object Object]
HRF Report ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Houston Air Quality ,[object Object],Smoggy Day Clear Day YAAHOOO!!!?!!
Houston Air Quality ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],A typical ozone map of Houston in June (this is from June 29, 2009 at around noon) Sometimes ozone levels get so bad we are restricted from going outdoors between 10am-3pm
Houston Air Quality ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Houston Air Quality ,[object Object],More than 800 solar panels, paid for with part of a $6 million court settlement, will soon be on the roofs of Sam Rayburn and South Houston High schools. BUT: The project is the result of a negotiated settlement between Shell Oil Co. and two nonprofit environmental groups over accidental emissions from Shell’s Deer Park refinery that violated the Clean Air Act. As part of the April 2009 settlement with Environment Texas and the Sierra Club, Shell agreed to reduce emissions known as “upsets” from the Deer Park plant by 80 percent over three years. The company also agreed to fund two school-related projects in east Harris County.
[object Object],Now he lives in the state capital of Austin, TX He grew up in Fort Worth, TX David was born in Galveston, TX Focus: Austin Impact
The Drought of  07-09 ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Ironically, he was one of the first generals to employ “Scorched Earth” tactics in the Civil War “ If I owned Hell and Texas, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell”  –Phillip Henry Sheridan
Drought of 07-09 ,[object Object],August 24, 2009
Effects on Lake Travis ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],It got SO low that police officers found three cars and bikes previously thought stolen!
Drought of 07-09 ,[object Object]
Effects on Barton Springs ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Thus, you know you’re in a TX summer when ,[object Object],[object Object],Hot water now comes out of both taps. You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron. The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a bit chilly. You discover that in July it takes only two fingers to drive your car. You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 am. You realize that asphalt has a liquid state. The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground Cows are giving evaporated milk. The trees are whistlin' for the dogs. A sad Texan said once: 'I wish it would rain - not so much for me, cuz I've seen it, but for my 7-year-old.'
[object Object],You’re Welcome.

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Texas Climate Impacts

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  • 3. The Big Hitters Drought Flooding Hurricanes Sea Level Rise
  • 5. Drought From King of the Hill, Pilot Episode, 1997 Expected temperature rise: 3-10°F rise in winter lows and 3-7°F rise in summer highs. July heat index—a measure combining temperature and humidity to represent the temperature actually felt—could rise by 10-25°F. Dale, you giblet head, we live in Texas. It’s already 110 in the summer, and if it gets one degree hotter I’m gonna kick your ass! I say, let the world warm up…We’ll grow oranges in Alaska.
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Editor's Notes

  1. From: How Will Climate Change Impact the EPA Region 6 Area?: http://www.epa.gov/region6/climatechange/impact-in-r6.htm Texas and the Southern Great PlainsTHE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON TEXAS AND THE SOUTHERN  GREAT PLAINS: http://www.climatehotmap.org/impacts/texas.html
  2. Union of Concerned Scientists, Climate Projections for Texas http://www.ucsusa.org/gulf/gcstatetex_cli.html
  3. A combination of record-high heat and record-low rainfall has pushed south and central Texas into the region's deepest drought in a half century, with $3.6 billion of crop and livestock losses piling up during the past nine months. Nearly 80 of Texas' 254 counties are in "extreme" or "exceptional" drought, the worst possible levels on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's index. Though other states are experiencing drought, no counties in the continental U.S. outside Texas currently register worse than "severe." In late April, the USDA designated 70 Texas counties as primary natural-disaster areas because of drought, above-normal temperatures and associated wildfires. Wall Street Journal Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124872939604384837.html
  4. During the summer of 2002, the river basin received nearly three feet of rain over the course of about a week. It was the first time the spillway became active, and the landscape below it would literally not be the same afterwards. Over the course of just a few days, the flood barreled through limestone-rich bedrock, carving out 1.2km of canyon with an average depth of over seven meters, and as deep as 12m in some spots. A 2002 Texas megaflood carved a 2.2km canyon in three days: http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/06/2002-megaflood-carved-22km-canyon-in-three-days.ars
  5. The "Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate" report, discussed above, found evidence for a link between global warming and increased hurricane activity. It concludes, "It is very likely that the human-induced increase in greenhouse gases has contributed to the increase in sea surface temperatures in the hurricane formation regions. Over the past 50 years there has been a strong statistical connection between tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures and Atlantic hurricane activity." The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report makes similar findings, as do more recent studies. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, working with federal agencies as well as the insurance and energy industries, has launched an intensive study to examine how global warming will influence hurricanes in the next few decades. http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap3-3/final-report/default.htm
  6. The "Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate" report, discussed above, found evidence for a link between global warming and increased hurricane activity. It concludes, "It is very likely that the human-induced increase in greenhouse gases has contributed to the increase in sea surface temperatures in the hurricane formation regions. Over the past 50 years there has been a strong statistical connection between tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures and Atlantic hurricane activity." The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report makes similar findings, as do more recent studies. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, working with federal agencies as well as the insurance and energy industries, has launched an intensive study to examine how global warming will influence hurricanes in the next few decades. http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap3-3/final-report/default.htm
  7. "Freak" Hurricane Ike Will Cost $22 Billion http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080915-hurricane-ike.html
  8. Global Warming & Sea Level Rise in the Gulf Coast Region, Union of Concerned Scientist report: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/global_warming/acfvebkwm.pdf
  9. For example, you can see in Brazoria county (a little south of Houston), the areas in which there is protection against increases in water levels available versus none to little protection From: Anticipated Local Response to Sea Level Rise along the Texas Coast: A first approximation http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/urban-nature/publications/documents/FinalDraft_AllCounties_Texas_SLR_Response_7_01_08.pdf
  10. Houston's regional forest provides impressive value to its citizens: The replacement cost of the region's 663 million trees is valued at over $205 billion. Trees store $721 million worth of carbon. Trees generate $456 million worth of environmental benefits annually - amounting to $109 per person per year. Trees save $131 million in residential energy costs and avoided power plant emissions each year - almost $90 per household. Houston's trees remove over 60,000 tons of air pollution per year.
  11. Large trees and urban trees have greater roles in producing forest benefits: Urban trees work harder. The average urban tree stores 75% more carbon and has a 76% higher replacement value than the average rural tree.
  12. Getting the Big Picture on Houston’s Air Problem http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/everydaylife/archives/HP_ILP_Feature_03.html
  13. http://www.greenhoustontx.gov/airquality.html
  14. A Closer Look at Air Pollution in Houston: Identifying Priority Health Risks A summary of the Report of the Mayor’s Task Force on the Health Effects of Air Pollution (2007) http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei16/session6/bethel.pdf
  15. http://www.ultimatepasadena.com/2010/06/solar-project-help-power-2-pisd-schools
  16. http://www.lcra.org/water/drought/index.html
  17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Travis http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/WireHeadlines/2009/07/25/low-lake-levels-yield-stolen-vehicles-12.php
  18. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/us/06drought.html
  19. http://www.funny.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Funny.woa/wa/funny?fn=C4VMW&Funny_Jokes=Texas_Heat