Utahns have heard it before: Climate change threatens to make water more scarce. It will shrink the ski season, and swell the demand for summertime air conditioning.

But there are new messages for the Southwest in the White House report on climate change released Tuesday: Powerful changes are under way already and the time to act is now.

"Recent warming in the Southwest has been among the most rapid in the nation," says the opening line describing the region's climate impacts. "This is driving declines in the spring snowpack and Colorado River flow."

Released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the White House Office on Science and Technology Policy, the up-to-date, comprehensive look at

heat-trapping pollution was released just as the Western Governors Association ended a three-day meeting at Deer Valley dominated by talk of responding to climate change -- and tapping into the economic opportunities it might offer.

Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, who is expected to replace Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. soon as the state's chief executive, said in Deer Valley he does not consider the science on climate change "conclusive." His office did not respond to a request for comment on the new study.

At the Utah Water Users Association, they hadn't yet read the report, but they've been talking for years about managing the dramatic impacts scientists are projecting, according to executive director Carly B. Burton.

"Certainly, we can't walk away from it and put our heads in the sand," said Burton, whose group represents 600 member associations and individuals from agriculture, industry and community water systems. "We need to ask, 'Now, what do water users need to do to deal with this?' "

Huntsman, who has been nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to China, has been one of the region's leading voices on the need for action. He signed Utah up for the Western Climate Initiative and had a task force study how the state should respond to climate change.

Jim Steenburgh led the task force panel on scientific evidence for climate change in Utah. He said the state study's findings are echoed in the new report, which was produced by experts from 13 U.S. government science agencies, several major universities and research institutes.

"This is the best way you can do it," said Steenburgh, professor and chair of the University of Utah's Department of Atmospheric Sciences, commenting on the way the new report was done. "You're hearing a consistent story now from the scientific community."

 

The report cites water as being one of the sectors most affected.

Changes in the water cycle, together with rising temperatures, "signal a serious water supply challenge in the decades and centuries ahead," the report says. "The prospect of future droughts becoming more severe due to warming is a significant concern, especially because the Southwest continues to lead the nation in population growth."

Dianne Nielson, Huntsman's energy advisor, pointed out that members of the Western Governors Association have been looking at managing the projected risks of a changing climate, even if some disagree with the science.

"When we look at solutions," she said, "let's not discount the possibility that climate change could be one of those factors" that need to be included in dealing with forests, water and other resources.

Protecting the snowpack long has been a priority at SkiUtah!, the state's ski industry trade association.

Spokeswoman Jessica Kunzer noted that the resorts have a web page, www.keeputahcool.com, for keeping skiers informed about cutting climate pollution and protecting "the greatest snow on Earth." The ski industry contributes about $1 billion a year to the state's economy and 18,000 jobs.

"We're doing as much as we can right now," Kunzer said. "And we're always looking for ways to do better."

fahys@sltrib.com