Climate Change in Colorado

Colorado, barely beginning to recover from the most destructive wildfire season ever, has been devastated by raging monsoon rains described by the National Weather Service as being a 1,000-year event of "biblical proportions."

More rain has fallen in this one storm than usually falls in half a year. To provide perspective, the equivalent amount of snowfall would be between 15 and 20 feet.

Unpredictable, severe, and deadly weather events of increasing intensity are the predicted course of climate change. This is Colorado's second driest season on record. It comes after years of some of the most the most destructive wildfire seasons in history.

Now, just weeks later, Colorado has been devastated by an extreme rainstorm that smashes all prior records. And the deforestation caused by the wildfires has exacerbated the flooding impact due to the absence of trees and vegetation to prevent severe erosion. This compounding of severe weather impacts is also predicted by climate science, yet these horrible, cumulative consequences are a surprise to too many.

We are desperate for the kind of political leadership that will be square with the public, tell the public the truth about what we face, and mobilize us all to take the actions needed to prevent the threat of climate change from passing a dangerous and possibly irreversible tipping point.