HEEDING WARNINGS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

The University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group (CIG) has quantified the impacts of climate variations on a small region of the Earth, the Pacific Northwest, and has served as a bridge between global climate science and local decision-makers. El Nino and decadal-scale climate variations over the Pacific Ocean influence the Northwest's water resources and living resources, and provide a useful basis (along with numerical models) for estimating the impacts of climate change and also for examining how institutions coped with past climate stresses. With a Mediterranean climate, the Northwest relies largely on snowmelt to provide water in summer for agricultural and urban uses. This reliance on snowpack and the vulnerability of snowpack to even modest warming leaves the region (especially the dry Columbia River Basin) ill-equipped for coping with the stresses that a warming climate will bring; adaptation will not be easy. The summer of 2001, with much below normal snowpack, may provide an illustration of these stresses and institutional responses. CIG enjoys high visibility in the region and works diligently to inform natural resource managers, policymakers, and the public about the connections between climate and resources.