Everything Nevada needs to know right now about the climate fires raging in several states and Tropical Depression Sally

Last updated: Sunday, September 20.

BOTTOM LINE:  The climate crisis is happening right before our eyes — and Trump is doubling down on his climate denial and refusal to listen to scientists. Just like he denied COVID and said everything was under control, Trump is refusing to listen to experts and has not offered plans or solutions to address the climate crisis. This is dangerous and it is a losing strategy in Nevada, where the majority of voters are worried about the climate crisis and want leaders to take bold action.

Western Wildfires: Climate Change is Making Wildfires More Deadly and Worse

• As temperatures rise due to climate change, the severity, frequency, and extent of wildfires increases.

• The number of acres burned by wildfire has doubled in recent decades due to climate change. A National Climate Assessment Report found “that the area burned by wildfire from 1984 to 2015 was twice what would have burned had climate change not occurred.”
  • And climate change — not fire management — is the cause. The area burned from 1916 to 2003 was more closely related to climate factors than to fire suppression, local fire management, or other non-climate factors.

• Extreme heat is driving fires. Research shows heat waves are now larger, increasingly intense, and lasting longer than decades ago. Specifically in California, extreme heatwaves — like the ones of recent weeks — are now 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer due to climate change.

• Fire season is now two to three months longer than it was just a few decades ago across much of the West.

• A recent study from this spring found that the frequency of autumn days with extreme fire weather conditions has more than doubled since the 1980s, fueled by a combination of less rainfall and warmer temperatures.
• NOAA ranked the U.S. summer as one of the hottest on record. And Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah each had their warmest August on record.

Trump’s Climate Plan is Killing Clean Energy Jobs, Biden Has Proposed a Plan that Would Create Them

• President Donald Trump’s ongoing war on clean energy and his bungled response to COVID-19 has cost the United States more than 1.1 million good-paying clean energy jobs, including more than 4,200  in Nevada.

• Vice President Biden’s plan to respond to the climate crisis would modernize the American economy and create 10 million good paying union jobs in the process.

Nevadans are Concerned about Climate Changes and Support Bold Action

• Sixty-three percent of Nevadans are concerned about the climate crisis and want leaders to take bold action now.

• The majority of Nevadans believe leaders at every level of government should be doing more to address the climate crisis. According to research by Yale University, 60 percent of Nevadans believe the President and Congress should do more to address climate change.

• Nearly 3 in 4 voters want to eliminate fossil fuels in favor of a clean economy. According to a June 2020 Yale, Climate Nexus, and George Mason poll, more than 70 percent of voters support legislation to achieve a 100 percent clean economy by eliminating fossil fuels.

• Voters, even moderate Republicans, are far less likely to vote for presidential candidates who oppose climate action. An April Yale Program on Climate Change Communication survey found that voters are 55 percent less likely to vote for a presidential candidate who opposes taking action on climate – liberal/moderate Republicans are 35 percentage points less likely to vote for a candidate opposing action.