Potential Effects of Climate Change on New Mexico
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POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON NEW MEXICO AGENCY TECHNICAL WORK GROUP STATE OF NEW MEXICO December 30, 2005 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................1 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................... 1 Infrastructure............................................................................................................................... 2 Agriculture .................................................................................................................................. 2 Natural Systems .......................................................................................................................... 2 Outdoor Recreation and Related Tourism .................................................................................. 3 Environmental Quality and Health............................................................................................. 3 Environmental Justice and Native Peoples ................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................5 Global Warming.......................................................................................................................... 5 Late 21ST Century Climate of New Mexico................................................................................ 7 Assessing Potential Impacts of Climate Change ........................................................................ 7 WATER RESOURCES ...................................................................................................................9 INFRASTRUCTURE ....................................................................................................................11 Design Standards....................................................................................................................... 11 Transportation Systems............................................................................................................. 11 Urban Infrastructure and Systems............................................................................................. 12 AGRICULTURE ...........................................................................................................................14 Overview................................................................................................................................... 14 Rangelands and Ranching......................................................................................................... 15 Water Availability..................................................................................................................... 15 Crops......................................................................................................................................... 16 Pests/Diseases/Weeds ............................................................................................................... 17 NATURAL SYSTEMS .................................................................................................................18 Ecosystem Impacts.................................................................................................................... 18 Aquatic Ecosystems .............................................................................................................. 18 Terrestrial Ecosystems .......................................................................................................... 20 New Mexico Ecoregions ........................................................................................................... 21 Southern Rocky Mountains (Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, and San Juan Mountains) ............... 21 Southern High Plains (eastern New Mexico shortgrass prairies) ......................................... 22 Northern Chihuahuan Desert (southern New Mexico lowlands).......................................... 22 Great Basin (northwestern New Mexico lowlands).............................................................. 22 Madrean Archipelago (mountains of New Mexico bootheel) .............................................. 22 Terrestrial Vertebrates............................................................................................................... 23 Amphibians ........................................................................................................................... 23 Reptiles.................................................................................................................................. 23 Birds...................................................................................................................................... 23 Mammals............................................................................................................................... 24 Biodiversity and Endangered Species....................................................................................... 24 Catastrophic change in forests: drought, fire and insect outbreaks ......................................... 26 Wildfire ................................................................................................................................. 26 Insect Outbreaks.................................................................................................................... 26 Effects on Ecosystem Goods and Services ............................................................................... 27 OUTDOOR RECREATION AND RELATED TOURISM..........................................................29 i ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND HEALTH .......................................................................30 Air Pollution.............................................................................................................................. 30 Ozone (Smog) ....................................................................................................................... 30 Particulate Matter (Smoke and Dust).................................................................................... 30 Heat-Related Illnesses and Death............................................................................................. 31 Infectious Diseases.................................................................................................................... 32 Mosquito-borne diseases....................................................................................................... 32 Rodent-borne diseases........................................................................................................... 33 Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) ..................................................................................... 33 Future Disease Threats.......................................................................................................... 34 Other Potential Environmental Quality and Health Issues ....................................................... 35 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND NATIVE PEOPLES .........................................................37 Health........................................................................................................................................ 37 Economic Impacts..................................................................................................................... 37 Native American Cultural Values............................................................................................. 38 CONTRIBUTORS .........................................................................................................................39 REFERENCES CITED..................................................................................................................40 ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report has been prepared by state agency personnel pursuant to Governor Richardson’s Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Executive Order 05-033, issued June 9, 2005 (Richardson 2005). The purpose of the report is to assess the potential impacts on New Mexico of climate change that could be brought about by global warming in the 21st century. The Executive Order also directs state agencies and stakeholders to develop recommendations for measures to reduce New Mexico’s emissions of greenhouse gases; more information on this process may be found at www.nmclimate.change.us. Human activity is changing the global climate by increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases trap heat near the earth’s surface. The greatest human-caused contribution to the increased greenhouse effect is the large amount of carbon dioxide produced by burning of carbon-based fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Other human-caused sources of greenhouse gases include land use changes, cement production, and other industrial processes. Increased warming of the earth’s surface changes the complex interactions of air, land, water and ice, and the circulations of winds and ocean currents that make up the global climate system. Computer models of the climate system are used to estimate global patterns of future climatic conditions under various scenarios of future greenhouse gas concentrations. Some projected changes, such as significant warming and decreased snow