e360 digest
17 Jun 2009:
U.S. Government Report:
Effects of Warming Already Being Felt
U.S. government scientists have issued a report saying that evidence of climate change is already “unequivocal” and that warming this century could significantly alter the nation’s weather and coastlines. The report, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States,” says that average U.S. temperatures have increased by 2 degrees F in the past 50 years and can be expected to rise 4 to 11 degrees F by 2100, depending on the success of cutting carbon dioxide emissions. “In our backyards, climate change is happening and it’s happening now,” said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “It’s not too late to act. Decisions made now will determine whether we get big changes or small changes.” The report said that in the past 50 years, heavy rainstorms have become 67 percent more common in the northeast because warmer weather is evaporating more water vapor and forming storm clouds. The report also forecast that by 2100 parts of the South could experience 150 days a year with temperatures above 90 degrees F, up from 60 days today; that warmer weather could lead to longer growing seasons but could also increase agricultural pests and devastate New England’s maple sugar industry; and that sea levels could increase by as much as three feet, inundating large parts of South Florida.
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