Climate change causing many rivers worldwide to shrink

American Rivers responds to National Center for Atmospheric Research study

April 23, 2009

(Washington, DC) Many of the world’s rivers are losing water and in many cases, climate change is to blame, according to the findings of a new global study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The results, to be published May 15 in the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate, also reveal that future food and water supplies could be threatened.

American Rivers, the nation’s leading river conservation organization, is helping communities reduce the negative river and freshwater impacts brought by climate change.

The President of American Rivers, Rebecca Wodder, released the following statement:

“This study confirms that global warming is hitting rivers first and worst. Whether it is shrinking water supplies in the Colorado and Columbia river basins, or more rain and flooding in basins like the Mississippi, or an increased threat of waterborne diseases, global warming threatens not only our rivers but the communities that depend on them.”

“We must fight global warming by reducing harmful emissions, and we also need to help communities prepare for the inevitable impacts global warming is bringing." 

“We are at a transformational moment. It is time to embrace a 21st century approach to water that integrates green solutions, recognizes changing climatic conditions, and helps ensure community safety and security. We have seen that the same old 19th and 20th century approaches to water management simply aren’t fit for the challenges of this century.”

“Green infrastructure solutions are cost-effective, flexible, and solve multiple problems at the same time. These solutions include protecting essential healthy landscapes like forests and wild rivers, restoring degraded landscapes like floodplains and wetlands, and managing water more naturally in urban settings.”

"Water is life, and nothing is more fundamental to the health and well-being of our communities. American Rivers will continue our longstanding fight to protect and restore our rivers so that they can continue to nourish and sustain us for generations to come.”

Read more about the study: http://www.ametsoc.org/amsnews/documents/StreamflowNR7-1.pdf

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American Rivers is the leading conservation organization fighting for healthy rivers so communities can thrive. American Rivers protects and restores America's rivers for the benefit of people, wildlife and nature. Founded in 1973, American Rivers has more than 65,000 members and supporters, with offices in Washington, DC and nationwide.