Study Says Sierra Snowpack Will Drop At Least 50% by 2050

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Monika Bauerlein,
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December is make-or-break for Mother Jones’ fundraising, and in "No Cute Headlines or Manipulative BS," we hope that giving it to you as matter-of-fact as we can will work to raise the $350,000 we need to raise this month. Donations make up 74 percent of our budget this year, and all online gifts will be matched and go twice as far until we hit our goal.

Snowpack in the Sierras is looking pretty good this year, but that’s just a minor blip in the steady yearly decline of snowpack that’s been caused by climate change—a loss that will continue over the next century if climate change continues to get worse. But how much worse will it get? The LA Times writes today about a new study of future snowpack and how it will affect the state system of reservoirs that catch the melt and then release it during the dry summers. Here’s the nickel summary:

This is the future of California if climate change continues on its current path. And as we all know, California is a bellwether for the world. Be afraid.