Climate change impacts in eastern Washington are expected to alter the timing and volume of precipitation received. These changes could have significant impacts on residential outdoor water use particularly if water supply systems are unable to meet the forecasted demand due to both declining water resources and rising climate-driven water use. Residential lawns often require relatively large volumes of water to maintain and demands have increased as green lawns have become more pervasive in residential areas as the population expands. Such increases in water demand can have severe consequences for water management in counties in eastern Washington which are relatively arid. Understanding the potential consequences of the relationship between climate change and lawn maintenance will be necessary for understanding how lawn irrigation can be more efficient in a drier future. As outdoor water use is more elastic than indoor use, residential lawn irrigation is also attractive for achieving water savings. Although lawns are widespread, the impact of climate change on consumptive use of municipal water is relatively understudied. To accomplish this, Chapter 2 details our use of VIC-CropSyst, a coupled framework consisting of a macroscale hydrologic model and agricultural model. The model output is used to explore gaps related to the potential impacts of climate change and atmospheric CO2 increases on irrigation demand on a regional scale in eastern Washington counties. In this study, we ran 17 General Circulation Models (GCMs) and future Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios with different lawn management events to determine what likely future lawn irrigation rates will be in the face of climate change. The result shows that the need for lawn irrigation will increase and management guidance, like clipping events, and grass height maintenance could be the best practice for estimating the right amount of water with changing future climate. Chapter 3 explored the impacts of precipitation variability and watering restrictions on lawn irrigation practices in the City of Moses Lake. Results showed that households were responsive to precipitation change using more water in dry years and less in wet years and the restrictions were an effective tool for reducing outdoor water use.

“Ted Steinberg proves once again that he is a master storyteller as well as our foremost environmental historian.”—Mike Davis The rise of the perfect lawn represents one of the most profound transformations in the history of the American landscape. American Green, Ted Steinberg's witty exposé of this bizarre phenomenon, traces the history of the lawn from its explosion in the postwar suburban community of Levittown to the present love affair with turf colorants, leaf blowers, and riding mowers.

Summarizes the science of climate change and impacts on the United States, for the public and policymakers.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader's doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.

Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.