SALIDA, COLORADO_ A PICTURESQUE TOWN IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Pal Linza, Salida resident:

"When I was a kid we really had nice weather here. Really nice.:"

PAL LINZA HAS LIVED IN SALIDA ALL HIS LIFE.

BUT THE 86 YEAR OLD HAS SEEN HIS HOME TOWN CHANGE.

THE WINTERS HAVE BECOME DRIER AND HE HAS TO WATER HIS LAWN MORE OFTEN.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Paul Linza, Salida resident:  

"It changed quite a bit because we didn't get no moisture and everything, and everything you know just changed all of a sudden."

BUEL MATTIX USED TO INSTALL ONLY A FEW AIR CONDITIONERS A YEAR WHEN HE STARTED OUT SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

NOW...

SOUNDBITE: (English) Buel Mattix, owner, Mountain Air HVAC:

"I probably won't get to all the air conditioning jobs. I mean we typically do have a list I mean it's probably already at 10 or 15 people this year."

THEY MAY NOT SEEM LIKE BIG CHANGES.. BUT THEY HAVE WIDESPREAD IMPLICATIONS

ACCORDING TO NOAA, THE TEMPERATURE IN THE US HAS GONE UP NEARLY 1.6 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.

THE WARMING PLANET IS JUST PART OF THE DIRE PREDICTIONS MADE BY A NASA SCIENTIST IN 1988.

THAT'S WHEN JAMES HANSEN TESTIFIED BEFORE CONGRESS THAT GLOBAL WARMING WAS ALREADY HERE AND WORSENING. HE WARNED THAT THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT HAD BEEN DETECTED AND WAS AFFECTING THE CLIMATE.

++AP GRAPHIC++

AN AP ANALYSIS SHOWS SOME CITIES HAVE SEEN AN EVEN GREATER INCREASE THAN THE SALIDA AREA'S 1.9 DEGREES WARMING SINCE 1988 -   THE YEARLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN ATLANTIC CITY ROSE 2.9 DEGREES AND DES MOINES, IOWA WARMED BY 3.3 DEGREES.

SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen,

"The science was right and yet we haven't taken advantage of our scientific understanding to make policies that are effective."

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BEEN SWEEPING... FROM MELTING ARCTIC ICE TO RISING SEA LEVEL.

THERE'S MORE EXTREME WEATHER– FLOOD-INDUCING DOWNPOURS, EXTENDED DROUGHTS, HEAT WAVES AND BITTER COLD.

HANSEN LEFT NASA IN 2013 AND IS NOW AN ADVOCATE FOR POLICIES TO CONTROL FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS.

SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen,

"We can't afford to go through another cycle like that where they assume where young people assume that the political leaders are going to address the problem."

(NAT POP)

MIKE SUGASKI HAS BATTLED THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

THE VETERAN FIREFIGHTER WHO LIVES IN SALIDA REMEMBERS A TIME WHEN A 10 THOUSAND ACRE FIRE WAS CONSIDERED HUGE.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"Boom all of a sudden we're starting to get larger fires and now we're up over 100-thousand, easy."

++SOUNDBITE BUTTED BY WHITE FLASH++

SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"You kinda keep saying, 'How can they get much worse?' But they do."

THE HOTTER WORLD A SCIENTIST PREDICTED THIRTY YEARS AGO NOW AN EVERY DAY REALITY.

PETER BANDA, ASSOCIATED PRESS, SALIDA, COLORADO

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2018

1.Wide shot of Salida, Colorado

2. Medium shot of people on trail with their dog

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Pal Linza, Salida resident:

(Transcript below)

4. Pal Linza standing behind string of sprinklers

5. Tight shot of water landing on grass

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Pal Linza, Salida resident:

(Transcript below)

Salida, Colorado - 2 May 2018

7. Buel Mattix working on an air movement sheet metal piece

8, SOUNDBITE: (English) Buel Mattix, owner, Mountain Air HVAC:

(Transcript below)

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2016

9. Medium of air conditioning unit on a house

10. Pal Linza standing behind a sprinkler

Washington - 9 May 1989

15. STILL Image of Jim Hansen, former director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testifying before a Senate Transportation subcommittee

Denver - 8 June 2018

16. STILL then pan of image of excerpt of Hansen's testimony from June 23, 1988 testimony before Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

New York - 15 June 2018

Graphic with still images of Salida,Colorado, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Des Moines, Iowa showing temperature increases of 1.9 degrees, 2.9 degrees and 3.3 degrees, respectively

New York - 12 April 2018

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen, former director, Goddard Institute for Space Studies:

(Transcript below)

Beaufort sea, international waters - 16 July 2017

18. STILL IMAGE looking out from behind the bridge at broken ice from the MSV Nordica while it sails through the Northwest Passage

Pacifica, California - 20 January, 2010

19. STILL IMAGE of waves pounding a wall near a building during rain storm in a city where the sea level is expected to rise around three feet in the next century

Mumbai, India - 9 June 2018

20. People walk past a vehicle moving in a waterlogged street following heavy rains in Mumbai, India

Folsom, California - 9 January 2014

21. Bicyclist stops for a water break on the dry lake bed at Folsom Lake that receded following drought that gripped the state of California

Pleasant Plains, Illinois - 5 July 2012

22. The sun sets during a then-record breaking heat wave in 2012 that gripped a large part of the country

St. Louis - 5 January 2014

23. A woman holds her hood during snowfall that was followed by bitter cold

New York - 12 April 2018

24. James Hansen sits on a couch in his apartment during an interview

25. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen, former director, Goddard Institute for Space Studies:

(Transcript below)

(NAT POP)

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2018

26. Various of veteran woodland firefighter Mike Sugaski going through is firefighting gear in his garage

Ventura, California - 6 December 2017

27. STILL IMAGE of a motorists on a highway north of Los Angeles watching a wildfire that burned hundreds of structures and scorched more than 440 square miles (281,600 acres)

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2018

27. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"Boom all of a sudden we're starting to get larger fires and now we're up over 100-thousand (acres), easy."

28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"You kinda keep saying, "How can they get much worse?" But they do."

Ventura, California - 5 December 2017

28. STILL image of flames from the Thomas fire advancing down a hillside near the Springs of Life Church in Casitas Springs, California during the largest fire that state's recorded history.

Bhopal, India - 20 May 2002

29. STILL IMAGE of man shading himself from the sun with an umbrella as he takes a break from walking across the dry bed of the Upper Lake in Bhopal, during a heat wave.

Independence, California - 19 May 2012

30. STILL IMAGE of Owens Lake, reduced to a dry lake bed, in the Owens Valley during severe drought.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus099237

SALIDA, COLORADO_ A PICTURESQUE TOWN IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Pal Linza, Salida resident:

"When I was a kid we really had nice weather here. Really nice.:"

PAL LINZA HAS LIVED IN SALIDA ALL HIS LIFE.

BUT THE 86 YEAR OLD HAS SEEN HIS HOME TOWN CHANGE.

THE WINTERS HAVE BECOME DRIER AND HE HAS TO WATER HIS LAWN MORE OFTEN.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Paul Linza, Salida resident:  

"It changed quite a bit because we didn't get no moisture and everything, and everything you know just changed all of a sudden."

BUEL MATTIX USED TO INSTALL ONLY A FEW AIR CONDITIONERS A YEAR WHEN HE STARTED OUT SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

NOW...

SOUNDBITE: (English) Buel Mattix, owner, Mountain Air HVAC:

"I probably won't get to all the air conditioning jobs. I mean we typically do have a list I mean it's probably already at 10 or 15 people this year."

THEY MAY NOT SEEM LIKE BIG CHANGES.. BUT THEY HAVE WIDESPREAD IMPLICATIONS

ACCORDING TO NOAA, THE TEMPERATURE IN THE US HAS GONE UP NEARLY 1.6 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.

THE WARMING PLANET IS JUST PART OF THE DIRE PREDICTIONS MADE BY A NASA SCIENTIST IN 1988.

THAT'S WHEN JAMES HANSEN TESTIFIED BEFORE CONGRESS THAT GLOBAL WARMING WAS ALREADY HERE AND WORSENING. HE WARNED THAT THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT HAD BEEN DETECTED AND WAS AFFECTING THE CLIMATE.

++AP GRAPHIC++

AN AP ANALYSIS SHOWS SOME CITIES HAVE SEEN AN EVEN GREATER INCREASE THAN THE SALIDA AREA'S 1.9 DEGREES WARMING SINCE 1988 -   THE YEARLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN ATLANTIC CITY ROSE 2.9 DEGREES AND DES MOINES, IOWA WARMED BY 3.3 DEGREES.

SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen,

"The science was right and yet we haven't taken advantage of our scientific understanding to make policies that are effective."

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BEEN SWEEPING... FROM MELTING ARCTIC ICE TO RISING SEA LEVEL.

THERE'S MORE EXTREME WEATHER– FLOOD-INDUCING DOWNPOURS, EXTENDED DROUGHTS, HEAT WAVES AND BITTER COLD.

HANSEN LEFT NASA IN 2013 AND IS NOW AN ADVOCATE FOR POLICIES TO CONTROL FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS.

SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen,

"We can't afford to go through another cycle like that where they assume where young people assume that the political leaders are going to address the problem."

(NAT POP)

MIKE SUGASKI HAS BATTLED THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

THE VETERAN FIREFIGHTER WHO LIVES IN SALIDA REMEMBERS A TIME WHEN A 10 THOUSAND ACRE FIRE WAS CONSIDERED HUGE.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"Boom all of a sudden we're starting to get larger fires and now we're up over 100-thousand, easy."

++SOUNDBITE BUTTED BY WHITE FLASH++

SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"You kinda keep saying, 'How can they get much worse?' But they do."

THE HOTTER WORLD A SCIENTIST PREDICTED THIRTY YEARS AGO NOW AN EVERY DAY REALITY.

PETER BANDA, ASSOCIATED PRESS, SALIDA, COLORADO

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2018

1.Wide shot of Salida, Colorado

2. Medium shot of people on trail with their dog

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Pal Linza, Salida resident:

(Transcript below)

4. Pal Linza standing behind string of sprinklers

5. Tight shot of water landing on grass

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Pal Linza, Salida resident:

(Transcript below)

Salida, Colorado - 2 May 2018

7. Buel Mattix working on an air movement sheet metal piece

8, SOUNDBITE: (English) Buel Mattix, owner, Mountain Air HVAC:

(Transcript below)

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2016

9. Medium of air conditioning unit on a house

10. Pal Linza standing behind a sprinkler

Washington - 9 May 1989

15. STILL Image of Jim Hansen, former director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testifying before a Senate Transportation subcommittee

Denver - 8 June 2018

16. STILL then pan of image of excerpt of Hansen's testimony from June 23, 1988 testimony before Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

New York - 15 June 2018

Graphic with still images of Salida,Colorado, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Des Moines, Iowa showing temperature increases of 1.9 degrees, 2.9 degrees and 3.3 degrees, respectively

New York - 12 April 2018

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen, former director, Goddard Institute for Space Studies:

(Transcript below)

Beaufort sea, international waters - 16 July 2017

18. STILL IMAGE looking out from behind the bridge at broken ice from the MSV Nordica while it sails through the Northwest Passage

Pacifica, California - 20 January, 2010

19. STILL IMAGE of waves pounding a wall near a building during rain storm in a city where the sea level is expected to rise around three feet in the next century

Mumbai, India - 9 June 2018

20. People walk past a vehicle moving in a waterlogged street following heavy rains in Mumbai, India

Folsom, California - 9 January 2014

21. Bicyclist stops for a water break on the dry lake bed at Folsom Lake that receded following drought that gripped the state of California

Pleasant Plains, Illinois - 5 July 2012

22. The sun sets during a then-record breaking heat wave in 2012 that gripped a large part of the country

St. Louis - 5 January 2014

23. A woman holds her hood during snowfall that was followed by bitter cold

New York - 12 April 2018

24. James Hansen sits on a couch in his apartment during an interview

25. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Hansen, former director, Goddard Institute for Space Studies:

(Transcript below)

(NAT POP)

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2018

26. Various of veteran woodland firefighter Mike Sugaski going through is firefighting gear in his garage

Ventura, California - 6 December 2017

27. STILL IMAGE of a motorists on a highway north of Los Angeles watching a wildfire that burned hundreds of structures and scorched more than 440 square miles (281,600 acres)

Salida, Colorado - 30 April 2018

27. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"Boom all of a sudden we're starting to get larger fires and now we're up over 100-thousand (acres), easy."

28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mike Sugaski, veteran firefighter:

"You kinda keep saying, "How can they get much worse?" But they do."

Ventura, California - 5 December 2017

28. STILL image of flames from the Thomas fire advancing down a hillside near the Springs of Life Church in Casitas Springs, California during the largest fire that state's recorded history.

Bhopal, India - 20 May 2002

29. STILL IMAGE of man shading himself from the sun with an umbrella as he takes a break from walking across the dry bed of the Upper Lake in Bhopal, during a heat wave.

Independence, California - 19 May 2012

30. STILL IMAGE of Owens Lake, reduced to a dry lake bed, in the Owens Valley during severe drought.