Reno 911! Global Warming Threatens Biggest Little City in the World

Jim_Dangle

Could the short-shorts so infamously worn by a character on Comedy Central’s Reno 911! ever be appropriate? What if average temperatures rise 11 degrees in the lifetime of a child born today?

In the real-life Reno, residents are considering the potential impacts if we don’t act now to curb our global warming pollution:

A recent study by the National Wildlife Federation predicted global temperatures could increase up to 11 degrees in the next 90 years, increasing the risk of flooding.

That’s because warmer air can hold more moisture, producing more heavy rain, said Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist with the federation.

There could also be an increased danger of storms when rain falls on an existing snowpack, melting snow and producing floods of the type that the Reno-Sparks area saw in January 2007. Casinos and warehouses flooded, jetliners were stranded in water and damage was estimated at about $700 million.

Tell your Senators right now — we need comprehensive climate & energy legislation now.

Published: August 7, 2009