Drought out West is a warning

Scenes of depleted reservoirs, uncontrolled forest fires and other ecological devastation show the drought in the western U.S. is extreme.

How extreme? The worst in 1,200 years, according to an analysis in the journal Nature Climate Change, which used tree-ring data to determine the last 22 years as the driest since 800 A.D. Even in an age of hyperbole, that's a stunning statistic, almost making the term megadrought an understatement.

It's unclear when another word — relief — will replace it. About 42% of the extended drought that began at the turn of the millennium can be attributed to climate change, according to the journal. Most notable was the role of temperatures, climate scientists told the New York Times and Washington Post, that create aridity that pulls moisture out of soil and plants, melts snow more quickly and exacerbates heat waves.

All this comes amid population growth in several of the affected states, which in turn increases greenhouse gas emissions as well as demand for fresh water.

While growth hasn't been as dramatic in the Upper Midwest, it's susceptible to drought, too. In fact much of Minnesota, especially western portions of the state, struggled with extremely dry conditions last year, reflecting the fact that climate change knows no state, national or transnational borders.

But governments do. And while the U.S. rightly rallies the world around mitigation protocols like the Paris Climate Accord and other measures, the country can and must do much more to reduce its own carbon emissions.

One way to do so is to advance the climate-change components of the Biden administration's proposed Build Back Better Act, which is stalled in the Senate. About $555 billion of the $2.2 trillion bill is slated for spending that would move the U.S. further toward clean-energy sources. According to an analysis by the New York Times, about $320 billion would go toward incentives to use more wind, solar and nuclear power. About $6 billion would go to make buildings more energy-efficient, and an equal amount would go for homeowners to replace natural gas-powered appliances with electric ones.

Consumers could also benefit from a proposed $12,500 in incentives to buy electric vehicles, as well as incentives to install solar panels, geothermal pumps and small wind turbines. Other spending would go toward research and development, including developing refined abilities to capture carbon dioxide from the air.

There are other worthy elements in the Build Back Better Act, including necessary investment in social-policy programs. But if congressional Democrats follow the data, as they urge in climate-change debates, they know they cannot pass the whole bill and may only muster the 50 necessary votes for the climate-change components, especially after West Virginia's Joe Manchin signaled potential support of it despite being the key "no" vote spiking the broader bill.

Democrats in Congress and in the White House can also read polling data that suggests the Republicans may retake control of the House and Senate, which would likely end any chance of any portion of the bill to pass.

"We don't have another 10 years to wait," Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., told the New York Times.

That's a message the world needs to hear and heed as the necessity of taking action on climate change becomes ever more apparent.