One View: Together, we can tackle Tahoe's next challenge
Jan Jones Blackhurst
Last month President Barack Obama joined Nevada Senator Harry Reid, Governor Brian Sandoval and leaders from nonprofit groups, businesses and both major political parties to speak at the Lake Tahoe Summit. The 20th annual summit was focused on the next generational challenge confronting the lake and its advocates: climate change.
Lake Tahoe is a magnificent resource shared by California and Nevada, and admired by millions of visitors from around the world. According to the latest research, the water temperature of Lake Tahoe is rising 15 times as fast as the historical average — about one-third of a degree Fahrenheit each year. If the warming continues (and it shows every indication that it will), it threatens to profoundly change the character of the lake. Less snow and more frequent sudden storms means more water eroding fine sediment into the lake waters. Warmer surface water also impedes the mixing of the deepest, coolest levels of lake waters, which is important to maintain water quality. These changes to Lake Tahoe could, over time, convert our pristine gem into just another cloudy mountain lake.
Obama takes shots at climate change deniers at Tahoe Summit
At the first Lake Tahoe Summit in 1997 President Bill Clinton provided the necessary support to put Tahoe on the national stage. The original Tahoe Restoration Act allocated $300 million over 10 years to "promote environmental restoration around the Lake Tahoe basin." Fortunately, two decades of planning and cooperation have paid off. Despite warning signs such as algae blooms, which have emerged in parts of the lake, the water is actually clearer today than it was at that first summit. That's proof we can, working together, make a difference. Now we need the same optimism and collaboration like never before as we address the next set of unprecedented challenges.
Like the hundreds of people who gathered this week at Harvey's Lake Tahoe can attest, there is a bipartisan consensus among scientists, businesspeople and government officials at all levels that positive change can – and must – be made. There's no easy fix for climate change, but we're making steady progress. Renewable energy resources continue to come online at an unparalleled rate. Last year, renewable energy generating capacity grew by more than 8 percent, the highest rate of increase ever recorded, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Global solar energy capacity grew even faster, at a rate of 26 percent, as the cost of the technology continues to fall.
Caesars Entertainment, like so many others around the world, supports the clean energy economy by actively working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions through efficiency. We also support continued bipartisan collaboration focused on securing the reauthorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, which will provide an additional $415 million in federal spending to protect our beloved shared lake that is so essential to both Nevada and California. With the 20th Lake Tahoe Summit, we hope you will join us in a renewed commitment to ensure Lake Tahoe remains a top national priority.
Jan Jones Blackhurst is executive vice president of government relations and corporate responsibility for Caesars Entertainment.