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1/ For our final 2C story, I traveled to Colorado’s Western Slope (in the before times, last fall). This hot spot, which extents into eastern Utah, is the largest in the Lower 48, per data genius @johnmuyskens - It spans 78,130 square km or 30,170 sq. mi. https://wapo.st/3imQMup
2/ For perspective, the second-largest area in the continental U.S. that’s warmed by more than 2 Celsius from 1895 to 2019 is in Oregon, at 47,190 sq. km. and the third-largest is in southern California at 42,830 sq. km.
3/ The rising temperatures in western CO is shrinking its snowpack, which flows into the Colorado River and provides water for 40 million Americans – from LA residents to cotton growers in AZ. The river’s average annual flow has declined nearly 20 percent over the last century.
4/ According to scientists, half of the Colorado River’s decline – 1.5 billion gallons of water, equal to what 14 million Americans use in a year -- stems from #climatechange
5/ So I journeyed to CO’s Western Slope to visit with folks affected by this changing landscape. There, I met some of the most thoughtful and open people I’ve been privileged to meet in my career. This piece tells their story.
6/ It includes the Kehmeier family, which has farmed there for four generations. Norman, 94, and Paul, 64, mainly grow alfalfa and grass hay. But during the 2018 drought, they leased most of their water to others because it was so hard to grow crops.
7/ They’re committed to farming, despite the fact that this year was another hot and dry one. “And if it’s in your blood, you want to do it,” Paul told me. “I want to go out kicking and scraping if I have to, but I don’t want to give up.”
8/ David Harold and his father farm an hour’s south of the Kehmeiers. They’re working with environmentalists and government officials to see how irrigation can continue even as water demand increases and supply dwindles, so it doesn’t revert to 'just a valley of chico brush.'
9/ I interviewed several smart academics working with water users, especially at @CSUEngagement @ColoradoStateU @CUBolder and @WWANews – including Perry Cabot, Dawn Thilmany, Rebecca Hill Chris Goemans, Jeff Lukas, @russ_schumacher and @bradudall
10/ @DekeArndt from @NOAANCEIclimate helped me and @chriscmooney find local weather records from Delta County, CO dating back to the early 1890s, like this one: https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/delta-county-co-s-early-weather-records/864f8bcd-b927-4d72-9a44-c794126a3396/
11/ Several water managers helped me understand a system critical to a thriving West: @GJCity water’s Randi Kim and Mark Ritterbush, @coloradowater Andy Mueller, Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association’ Steve Anderson and Grand Valley Water User Association’s Mark Harris.
12/ I also met young activists from Grand Valley Students United: Liliana Flanigan, Johneth Price, Annika Johnson and August Pomrenke. They’re pressing for action on climate change, but recognize the region still has strong economic ties to oil and gas. https://www.gvstudentsunited.org/
13/ Some CO politicians, like @senatorbennet @RepDMB are trying to wean the state off fossil fuels; others like @mcinniscolorado @laurenboebert disagree. (McInnis made time for me during my visit, and is always ready to reflect on, and tout, the gorgeous place he represents.)
14/ This place is a lens into our common #climate future, and they’re still trying to sort it out. It's what the 2C series is all about and it took @trishwbelli @vanhoutenphoto @johnmuyskens @madisonlynwalls @monicaulmanu @olivierclaurent @Julie_Vit @bcleve19 to bring it to life.
15/ And if you want to use the data underpinning our 2C series yourself, we’ve made it publicly available on @GitHub – read about it here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/08/07/how-use-posts-climate-data-analysis/
