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With one month left in 2021, a look back reveals a year in which the effects of climate change became increasingly visible across the West. Writing at the Los Angeles Times, Sammy Roth recaps the wildfires, falling water levels, and heat waves that marked 2021.
But, Roth notes, the future is not entirely bleak. The water shortage declaration on the Colorado River came about because of an agreement between states to give up water they would otherwise be entitled to under the bedrock laws governing the river.
And the Biden administration set an official goal of protecting 30 percent of America's land and waters by the end of the decade, setting the stage for a patchwork of conservation measures across federal, state, and private lands.
As Roth writes, “Collaboration is key. The last year made that abundantly clear. Whether Westerners can come together to reduce emissions and fortify themselves against the disasters on the horizon is yet to be seen.”
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It’s really cool to see the progress. From afar, it still looks like a road but the vegetation is slowly growing back in there, and ideally one day the sage will grow back in and it’ll just blend back into the landscape.”
