Major New Report on Climate Change...It's Here

[Lodestar]

We need a national conversation about this (and a plan) as well as a local conversation/ plan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The effects of human-induced climate change are being felt in every corner of the United States, scientists reported Tuesday, with water growing scarcer in dry regions, torrential rains increasing in wet regions, heat waves becoming more common and more severe, wildfires growing worse, and forests dying under assault from heat-loving insects.

Such sweeping changes have been caused by an average warming of less than 2 degrees Fahrenheit over most land areas of the country in the past century, the scientists found. If greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane continue to escalate at a rapid pace, they said, the warming could conceivably exceed 10 degrees by the end of this century.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/science/earth/climate-change-report.html?_r=1




Impacts will be felt differently across the U.S. As can be seen in this map from The New York Times, the change is not evenly distributed. Virginia Burkett, chief scientist for global change at the U.S. Geological Survey, said: “Parts of the country are getting wetter, parts are getting drier. All areas are getting hotter.”

Higher temperatures in the southwest are expected to create more droughts and lead to larger and more frequent wildfires. Meanwhile, “the north-east, midwest and Great Plains states will see an increase in heavy downpours and a greater risk of flooding.” Along the coasts, the threat of flooding will be particularly severe: “Residents of coastal cities, especially in Florida where there is already frequent flooding during rainstorms, can expect to see more. So can people living in inland cities sited on rivers.” Beyond flooding, sea levels will be inching up.

The report covers impacts for each region in detail. For the mid-atlantic, which covers the District of Colombia, Maryland, and Virginia, there are potentially scary impacts. “As sea levels rise, the Chesapeake Bay region is expected to experience an increase in coastal flooding and drowning of .?.?. wetlands.” The Washington Post writes these wetlands are crucial for protecting against storm surges, so this development would be “especially bad because the lower bay region is at higher risk as a result of sinking land. Water quality would decline and low-oxygen ‘dead zones’ would increase.” And if there are even higher greenhouse gas emissions, much of the area is expected to get an additional 60 days of weather topping 90 degrees, starting around 2050.

Map showing how the changes are distributed in the U.S. - some areas impacted more than others:



Sea Rise

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/03/27/world/climate-rising-seas.html

[NYC_SKP]

1. I'm in the process of moving as close to the epicenter of the Loma Prieta quake...

...without being too far from the tsunami zone as I possibly can, and I think I nailed it!

Not kidding.

[flamingdem]

2. K n r

[Lodestar]

3. Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the U.S.

Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the U.S. The state emits nearly 1.5 trillion pounds (680 billion kg) of carbon dioxide annually. As an independent nation, Texas would rank as the world's seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases. Causes of the state's vast greenhouse gas emissions include the state's large number of coal power plants and the state's refining and manufacturing industries. In 2010, there were 2,553 "emission events" which poured 44.6 million pounds of contaminants into the Texas sky.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-is-no-1-carbon-polluter-in-us/