UO E-clips, Dec. 16

Study projects hotter summers, rainier winters for basin (Medford Mail Tribune): With the region caught in the icy grip of a winter storm that brought a dusting of snow to Medford, the last thing on most residents' minds is global warming. But a scientific study on the potential local impact of global warming being released today urges residents as well as government agencies to start preparing for a long-term warming trend in the Rogue basin that could increase summer high temperatures by as much as 15 degrees by around 2080, due largely to greenhouse gases. Those hotter summers likely will result in more droughts and larger wildfires during dry periods, followed by less snow and more rain and flooding come winter, according to the report, titled "Preparing for Climate Change in the Rogue River Basin of Southwest Oregon." The report concludes climate change could threaten everything from agriculture to wildlife habitat, homes and vineyards. … the 39-page report was prepared by a team that includes scientist Bob Doppelt and Roger Hamilton of the Climate Leadership Initiative and Institute for Sustainable Environment at the University of Oregon.

Climate change could hit Rogue Valley hard (The Oregonian): If global warming continues unabated, summer temperatures in the Rogue River Valley could rise up to 15 degrees by 2080, making the weather in the southern Oregon valley similar to Sacramento's, Oregon researchers said in a report released today. The changes would likely boost wildfires, the researchers said, and spell trouble for fish, forests, pears, pinot noir and people, who would see snowpack and water supplies dwindle. The report, drafted by the University of Oregon's Climate Leadership Initiative and the Ashland-based National Center for Conservation Science & Policy, is the first of four that will try to boil down climate change predictions to a regional scale in southern Oregon. The study's authors used the global Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's "business as usual" scenario to make the projections. That scenario assumes that most countries fail to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bob Doppelt, director of the leadership initiative, noted that atmospheric carbon levels are already above the IPCC's estimates from last year for the business-as-usual scenario. And temperature increases are likely even under best-case scenarios, he said.

SOU Foundation endowment fund droops along with the economy (Medford Mail Tribune): Recent economic turmoil has pummeled college endowments nationwide, and the Southern Oregon University Foundation is no exception. The foundation posted $2 million less in long-term investments at the end of its fiscal year in June 2008. Investments have continued to decline since then, and an extended downturn could reverse some of the enrollment gains SOU reported earlier this fall, said Sylvia Kelley, vice president for development. … University endowments across the country dropped an estimated 25 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal year, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers. The University of Oregon, with an endowment many times the size of SOU's, reported a 16 percent drop, from $438 million to $367 million.

Oregon unemployment jumps to 8.1 percent in November (Associated Press): Oregon's unemployment rate shot up nearly a percentage point in November, rising to 8.1 percent. The November figure marks the state's highest jobless rate in five years, and it's the fourth consecutive month that Oregon has lost more than 4,000 jobs, according to the state. … "Everything is weighing on economy activity -- almost across the board," said Timothy Duy, an economics professor at the University of Oregon. "The only thing on the uptick is government, and my only worry there is that growth is going to stop."