White House Releases Report on Climate Change Impacts

On June 16, the Obama administration, in a joint venture with 13 federal agencies, released a report highlighting the effects of climate change on different regions of the United States. The report, which synthesized and organized data from numerous scientific reports, is a product of the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The USGCRP is required to write a report to Congress on the status of climate change every ten years, according to a 1990 law. The report, which first reiterated that climate change is unequivocal and largely due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions, painted a picture of what the United States could look like in 2100. Some of the predictions contained in the report include an average temperature increase of 4-11 °F by 2100, more downpours, an increase in the number of days above 90 °F for the Southeast, more droughts in the Southwest, sea level rise which could inundate southern Florida, and changing water supply patterns. The report also indicated that the growing season could become longer, which would otherwise appear to be a boon to the agriculture industry, but increased pests, weeds and watering needs would take away from benefits of a longer growing season.

Authors of the report emphasized that climate change is not a phenomenon of the future, but is happening right now all over the country. “What we would want to have people take away is that climate change is happening now, and it’s actually beginning to affect our lives,” said Thomas R. Karl, director of the National Climatic Data Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)and a principal author of the report. “It’s not just happening in the Arctic regions, but it’s beginning to show up in our own backyards.” Scientists also said that it will be up to the citizens and governments of the world to prevent the worst predictions of climate change from occurring. “Our destiny is really in our hands,” Dr. Karl said. “The size of those impacts is significantly smaller with appropriate controls.” Michael MacCracken, a leader of the 2000 climate change report, said that the information contained in the new report is useful, but “there is not much that is new.”

On February 25, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing on the latest in global climate change science, and the projected impacts of current emissions levels. The briefing also covered domestic climate legislation and the role it will play in implementing an ambitious and effective international agreement in Copenhagen in December 2009. The video, presentations, and highlights can be found here .

For additional information see:
http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR200906...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/science/earth/16climate.html?ref=earth
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5inRFaXp8ixkgLSc-zVGV8F...