Introducing new Climate Point reporter Janet Wilson

Monday, December 3

A rally in Eugene, Oregon, on Oct. 29, 2018.

Surprise surprise, the news is... not good

Notes on the bombshell climate report and the Southwest's water war. Plus: Climate Point introduces its new reporter, Janet Wilson.

Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate change, energy and the environment.

First off, hey there. I'm Janet Wilson, and I just started as The Desert Sun and USA TODAY's new, nosy environment reporter and blogger. I'm taking the Climate Point reins from the inimitable Sammy Roth, who is off to the Los Angeles Times. We wish him the best of luck in the City of Angels.

Here's a bit about me: A city kid from Manhattan, I fell in love with mountains and lakes as a Girl Scout. I've lived, worked and played in north Jersey (think The Sopranos), New Hampshire (think Green Acres), Detroit (magnificent Motown) and a national forest in Orange County (definitely not Real Housewives of OC). I married on an idyllic October afternoon and evacuated from a raging wildfire 48 hours later. My husband and I are currently backpacking the Appalachian Trail one state at a time.

I've covered dirty water, air and politics for the Los Angeles Times on the national and Inland Empire desks, juvenile crime for the Detroit Free Press, corrupt cops and mobsters for the dearly departed Hudson Dispatch, and a bevy of stories for a slew of other outlets. For the past several years, I worked with freaky smart glaciologists, atmospheric chemists, drought engineers and others at Univ. of California, Irvine. Before that, as a USC Annenberg fellow, I tested a Los Angeles family living in the shadow of industry (you guessed it: contaminants in their blood levels were high). As a cub reporter I got to had to chase a playboy real estate magnate named Donald Trump for the New York Daily News. Lo and behold, he's President now.

I love newspapers. I'm thrilled to be back in a newsroom and I can't believe that collectively we're doing next to nothing about climate change, the biggest story from now until the end of the world as we know it. Enough about me. Let's get to the point.

FIRST UP, WATER FIGHTS:

The fight in Imperial County that could upend Colorado River conservation efforts: I got my feet wet fast on desert water last week. It's complicated, but here's the gist: With the Colorado River at historic lows, the feds want emergency conservation plans approved by the seven states that rely on the water ASAP - remember: 40 million peoples' taps and toilets depend on the river system. But Imperial Valley farmers, who hold the oldest rights to the water, sued to stop their irrigation district from signing on. A state judge and water experts warned that the Law of the River (a real thing), on which the growers depend, could turn into the Law of Unintended Consequences, potentially reaching the Supreme Court or Congress, who could strip them of their rights.

The All-American Canal runs along the U.S.-Mexico border outside Mexicali, bringing Colorado River water to the farm fields of California's Imperial Valley.

Jay Calderon and Richard Lui/The Desert Sun

MUST-READ STORIES:

A dead tamarisk is seen atop silt banks towering more than 50 feet above the Colorado River near Pearce Ferry, marking the end of the Grand Canyon, in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

David Wallace/The Republic

Latest in the story of the week (and of the century): Scientists are letting us know ever more urgently that climate change is real, it's happening, and it's going to get a lot worse if we don't act. A massive U.S. report issued on Black Friday exhaustively lays out the dire threats to health, the economy and natural landscapes , as Doyle Rice of USA Today reports: "Earth's climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities," researchers say in the report, aka the National Climate Assessment. The impacts are already being felt across the Southwest and elsewhere, unleashing more severe droughts, more dangerous heat waves and bigger and more destructive wildfires, as Ian James of The Arizona Republic writes.

From global to local. Cue the chainsaws: The Michigan State Senate has passed a bill that would ban cities and towns from restricting removal of trees . As Keith Matheny of the Detroit Free Press writes, the legislation was proposed by State Sen. Tom Casperson, whose family has operated a log trucking company for three generations. Like those farmers in California, he says it's a matter of private property rights.

A tree lined street in Detroit

Patricia Beck, Detroit Free Press

ALL ABOUT CLEAN ENERGY:

Volt to Bolt: USA Today's Chrissie Thompson pens a decidedly intelligent first-person piece about how the Chevy Volt, which was supposed to save Motown and GM, has now been canceled, with the workers producing it laid off just in time for the holidays. GM is placing its money on the all-electric Bolt and the self-driving Cruise instead, as the Detroit Free Press' Jamie LaReau reports.

AND ANOTHER THING:

Smarty Pants: Trump said he doesn't believe the government climate change report because of his "high levels of intelligence" as Christal Hayes of USA Today reported. Ah yes, that's The Donald I remember.

That's all for this week. For more climate, energy and environment news, follow me on Twitter at @janetwilson66. You can also sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox here.