Staff Report:
The Earth's temperature has risen over the past 100 years.
And unless humanity changes its ways, that trend will only continue, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Lee Drake, regional director of College Democrats of America, said global warming cannot be ignored.
"Our lifestyles are based on a fragile relationship with the planet that is getting more frail with each day we let pass before we start making the changes we need to make," he said.
An even drier desert
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New Mexico's arid landscape is vulnerable to climate change, Drake said.
"When a lot of your water comes from other states, their environmental problems become your environmental problems," he said. "Albuquerque is helped in part by the large aquifer we have, but that's the only nearby source that can support the hundreds of thousands of people here."
Scientists from UNM and NMSU conducted a study on the effects of global warming on New Mexico's water resources.
Julia Coonrod, a UNM civil engineering professor who took part in the study, said global warming will lead to greater competition for water in the Southwest.
Also, the water needs of urban areas will take precedence over agriculture, and that could harm New Mexico rural economy, she said.
According to the study, New Mexico's agricultural economy could lose about $13 million by 2030. But that figure could inflate to as much as $115 million under the driest conditions, the report states.
But as water is used for more than just agriculture, the losses will go beyond economics, Coonrod said.
"How we get energy is dependent on water. Many things are dependent on water," she said. "Our study showed a large shift in how water is used. This is going to have consequences."
What needs to be done?
Sarah Coffee, coordinator of UNMPIRG's Campus Climate Challenge, said New Mexico should adopt higher emissions standards for vehicles to slow the effects of climate change.
"Car makers make dirtier cars in New Mexico than they do in California," she said. "Introducing stringent conditions can help deal with global warming."
Coonrod said the next president needs a long-term plan for the environment.
"They should have policies that look at a 100, 200-year time frame rather than what can be accomplished in the next four years," she said. "Change is going to be necessary."
Drake said protecting the future hinges on not repeating the past.
"We have to build energy-smart buildings now," he said. "The Student Union Building is a great example of this. It is powered completely by renewable sources of energy."
Coonrod said the U.S. could set an example for industrialized nations by leading the way in energy efficiency.
But some students says little will change.
Student Christina An said Americans are used to their lifestyles and will not give them up in favor of preservation.
"I think consumption will either stay the same or get higher," she said. "People want to live comfortably."
No matter how the U.S. deals with global warming, it needs to act fast, Drake said.
"The Earth has a limit," he said. "And we don't want to find it the hard way."
