Colorado
Global climate change poses risks to human health and to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Important economic resources such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and water resources also may be affected. Warmer temperatures, more severe droughts and floods, and sea level rise could have a wide range of impacts. All these stresses can add to existing stresses on resources caused by other influences such as population growth, land-use changes, and pollution.
Climate Change in Colorado
Below are some of the potential impacts:
- By 2100 temperatures in Colorado could increase by 3-4°F in spring and fall (with a range of 1-8°F) and 5-6°F in summer and winter (with a range of 2-12°F). Over the last century, the average temperature in Fort Collins, Colorado, has increased 4.1°F. Precipitation has decreased by up to 20% in many parts of the state.
- Over the next century, climate in Colorado may change even more. By 2100 temperatures in the state could increase by 3-4°F in spring and fall (with a range of 1-8°F) and 5-6°F in summer and winter (with a range of 2-12°F). Precipitation totals are estimated to change little in summer, although there could be an increase in the frquency of summer thunderstorms associated with moisture flow from the Gulf of Mexico. In spring and fall, precipitation is estimated to increase by 10%, and winter increases could have a range of 20-70%.
- With changes in climate, the extent of forested areas in Colorado could change little or decline by as much as 15-30%. The uncertainties depend on many factors, including whether soils become drier and, if so, how much drier. Hotter, drier weather could increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires, threatening both property and forests. Along the Front Range, drier conditions would reduce the range and health of ponderosa and lodgepole forests, and increase their susceptibility to fire. Grasslands and rangeland could expand into previously forested areas in the western part of the state, and piñon-juniper forests in the southern part of the state could expand northward.
- A warmer climate would lead to earlier spring snowmelt, resulting in higher streamflows in winter and spring and lower streamflows in summer and fall. Most of Colorado’s reservoirs are small in relation to total runoff; therefore, earlier snowmelt could reduce the reliability of many water supply systems within the state by limiting the amount stored for use in summer.
- The mix of crop and livestock production in a state is influenced by climatic conditions and water availability. As climate warms, production patterns could shift northward. Increases in climate variability could make adaptation by farmers more difficult. Warmer climates and less soil moisture due to increasedevaporation may increase the need for irrigation. However, these same conditions could decrease water supplies, which also may be needed by natural ecosystems, urban populations, industry, and other sectors.
The above are based on from the Environmental Protection Agency's report on climate change, which uses data from the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2001).
For more info on climate change impacts on Colorado's water resources, agriculture, forests and ecosystems, you can download pdf of full EPA Report.
CO2: How Does Your State Rank?
Colorado is the highest emitter of C02 of all 50 states and the most populous.
Maps
See CO2 output by sector, coastal population maps, and maps of regional initiatives.
Regional Initiatives
In the absence of federal action, many U.S. states are banding together to explore and employ greenhouse gas-reducing policies.
Colorado participates in the following:
Western Governors' Association (WGA): Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative
Learn about climate initiatives in all U.S. states and regions
Your Impact
Estimate your CO2 footprint by using a carbon calculator such as the one on the Inconvenient Truth web site.
How green is your energy? The EPA has a power profiler that can tell you.
