Trump presidency could spell ‘game over’ for Sierra Nevada, coral reefs

Hillary Clinton’s opponents kept the media focused on her rogue email server even as they planned to turn America into a rogue nation on climate change. We will soon be the last government on the planet still stubbornly denying the crisis.

Trump’s refusal to look at climate risk all but guarantees that global warming will pass the dangerous 2-degree Celsius limit, according to top climate scientists James Hansen and Michael Mann (both use the expression “game over”).

Even a four-year delay in emissions reduction will hurt two especially vulnerable geographic zones: California’s Sierra Nevada and the world’s coral reefs.

The U.S. Geological Survey predicts a 3-degree rise in the Sierras this century, with each additional degree leading to an estimated 23 percent loss of snowpack. This would devastate Central Valley farmers who produce fruits and vegetables for half the country.

And saving the coral reefs depends on keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees — even 1.5 degrees will push them to the edge, based on our experience with mass die-offs during El Niño.

State and local governments, newspapers and citizens must press the incoming president to reverse his reckless position on this most important issue before it’s too late.

This story was originally published November 13, 2016 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Trump presidency could spell ‘game over’ for Sierra Nevada, coral reefs."