Submitted by Trevor Trunnels
In December 2015, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change drafted the Paris Agreement, signifying each signatory’s commitment to keeping global average temperature increase (compared to pre-industrial levels) well below 2 degrees Celsius (°C), ideally below 1.5°C.
Eight years later, 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record—the next in a long series of record-shattering years, but this year, we’re crossing a new threshold. Climate scientists have described the 1.5°C target as “dead as a doornail” in a recent article in The Guardian, lamenting that we have waited too long to act and we’re going to exceed 1.5° extremely soon, if we haven’t already. Reno itself has been feeling this warming in recent years, and we’ve regularly seen temperatures over 100°F.
Considering this information, two questions deserve an answer: What does this mean for us living in Reno, and what can we do about it?
Local drivers and impact
To address what this means for us, we need to understand, firstly, that the climate is changing, but also why. The most obvious cause is emissions from transportation. According to the EPA, each gallon of gas that we burn when driving produces 8,887 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2), or about 20 pounds. This CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere and causes increased heat from the sun to radiate within the atmosphere, instead of being reflected into space. This is called the greenhouse effect, and CO2 is therefore known as a Greenhouse Gas (GHG).
Vehicles are not the only source of CO2, however. Burning organic material releases CO2, as does concrete poured as we continue to build roads and buildings. New housing developments that clear acre after acre of vegetation increase CO2 through the decomposition of that plant matter, but this also alters land that could have absorbed carbon; new plants can no longer grow there, a phenomenon known as land use change. 
And CO2 is neither the only nor the most powerful GHG: methane (27-30 times more potent than CO2 ) and nitrous oxide (273 times more potent than CO25) are also released from land use change, agriculture, industry, and vehicle emissions. The result of all of this heat is an increase in temperature, and the increase in energy of both the atmosphere and the oceans results in profound changes in our environment.
Reno is already feeling the effects of this warming. Over the past several years, Reno has been completely blanketed in smoke as enormous fires raged throughout California. This year has seen destruction from wildfires as close as Washoe Valley. We can expect that wildfires will continue to get worse as the climate continues to warm because the hot, arid air pulls moisture from the tissues of plants, making them more prone to burning.
Other hazards, such as pests like the bark beetle and diseases like Fusarium circinatum—both of which spread more easily in a warming climate—can result in increased dead plant matter, turning huge swathes of forest and brush into tinder. The bottom line: As the climate warms, more and more of our home in Nevada will be ready to burn.
The threat is real, and especially after this year’s fires, it is sobering. So, what can we do about it?
Mitigation
Mitigation actions are initiatives that we can take to either reduce or reverse our impact on the climate. The intent is to reduce the extent to which we are harming the environment so that we can preserve both our way of life and the plants and animals with whom we share this planet. There are plenty of actions that we can take, and unfortunately, many of them are often thought to be cliché.
Buying energy efficient lightbulbs, recycling, composting and riding a bicycle are commonly derided as being too small to have an impact, but all of these actions have the potential to make a difference if more of us start doing them.
Increasing energy efficiency by swapping old appliances for newer, more efficient ones will reduce emissions generated for the grid. Installing solar panels can potentially generate power in excess of that required by a single home, making that home’s energy emission free. Reducing unnecessary travel or using public transportation will reduce emissions generated on the road (every gallon we don’t burn is almost 20 pounds of CO2 kept out of the atmosphere).
Buying food locally—or growing it at home, if possible—can reduce emissions generated in transport. Reducing consumption of meat and dairy products reduces one’s contribution to emissions generated by agriculture.
All of these things, despite being small, personal changes, have the potential to make an impact if only we would all commit to them.
Adaptation
Climate adaptation efforts are important in acknowledging the impact of warming on our day-to-day lives, and the intent of adaptation is to make us more locally resilient to the challenges posed by climate change’s impacts. Especially as the climate warms and the Reno area becomes increasingly dry, it will be imperative that we do not waste water.
Home- or property-owners with large lawns could convert these spaces into a garden to grow produce, or they could be xeriscaped so that they do not have to be watered. This would also act as a potential firebreak, more of which are needed considering the increased risk of wildfire that we face.
For those living in apartments, these changes are still possible. Large open areas could be converted into community gardens, which could also foster increased community cohesion.
This last point is crucial: Many of the above actions, both adaptive and mitigative, are more powerful when taken together, and more powerful yet when they extend to the ears of local city planners. Involvement with a local homeowners association or the city planning commission can allow us to amplify this call to action, and doing so could encourage others to join in the fight.
The actions that we take now, individually and collectively, are shaping the future we will have to live with whether we’re aware of it or not. We should choose to construct a future in which we are actively working to reduce harm to our surroundings and increase our resilience to inevitable environmental changes, and the first step is acknowledging the problem. The second step is doing something about it.
Trevor Trunnels is a lifelong resident of Reno, Nevada, and is pursuing a degree in Environmental Science with an aim to study modeling of human contribution to climate change.
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