Major polluters are worsening the Western US water crisis: A new way to measure who's responsible

Major polluters are worsening the Western US water crisis: A new way to measure who's responsible

Climate change was once something scientists warned us about, and now it's a reality we are living in. In California's Central Valley, about one-third of climate-related groundwater loss between 2003 and 2024 can be attributed to emissions from the same actors. Scientists call them the "Carbon Majors," a group of 122 corporations that are the world's largest producers of oil, gas, coal and cement.

Skeptical Science New Research for Week #35 2026

Open access notables Carbon emissions exacerbating the Western US water crisis, Williams et al., Communications Earth & Environmen In the western US, limited water supply and high demand--accentuated by anthropogenic climate change--have resulted in overallocated water resources and rapidly depleting groundwater. Simultaneously, legal and policy mechanisms are being pursued regarding the contributions of large emitting entities (“Carbon Majors”…