How will climate change affect where you live?
By Judy Lowe | 06.16.09
One of the interesting aspects of the administration’s climate change report released today is its emphasis on how global warming is affecting or is projected to touch every corner of the United States. A few location-specific details were mentioned in the press conference – how trout in the Northwest can’t thrive when air temperatures rise above 70 degrees F., for instance. But an online section offers more localized information: It divides the country into eight areas and lets you click on your region to see possible impacts.
After all, as long-time Monitor science reporter Bob Cowen pointed out in a column yesterday, adapting to climate change depends on site-specific knowledge.
Here’s some of what the “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States” report sees as already happening in various parts of the country and predicts will occur unless changes are made:
Alaska
– Longer summers and higher temperatures are causing drier conditions, even in the absence of strong trends in precipitation.
– Insect outbreaks and wildfires are increasing with warming.
– Lakes are declining in area.
– Thawing permafrost damages roads, runways, water and sewer systems, and other infrastructure.
– Coastal storms increase risks to villages and fishing fleets.
– Displacement of marine species will affect key fisheries.
Northwest
– Declining springtime snowpack leads to reduced summer streamflows, straining water supplies.
– Increased insect outbreaks, wildfires, and changing species composition in forests will pose challenges for ecosystems and the forest products industry.
– Salmon and other coldwater species will experience additional stresses as a result of rising water temperatures and declining summer streamflows.
– The projected reduction in snow cover will adversely affect winter recreation and the industries that rely upon it.
– Sea-level rise along vulnerable coastlines will result in increased erosion and the loss of land.
Southwest
– Water supplies will become increasingly scarce, calling for trade-offs among competing uses, and potentially leading to conflict.
– Increasing temperature, drought, wildfire, and invasive species will accelerate transformation of the landscape.
– Increased frequency and altered timing of flooding will increase risks to people, ecosystems, and infrastructure.
– Unique tourism and recreation opportunities are likely to suffer.
– Cities and agriculture face increasing risks from a changing climate
Great Plains
– Projected increases in temperature, evaporation, and drought frequency add to concerns about the region’s declining water resources.
– Agriculture, ranching, and natural lands, already under pressure due to an increasingly limited water supply, are very likely to also be stressed by rising temperatures.
– Climate change is likely to affect native plant and animal species by altering key habitats such as the wetland ecosystems known as prairie potholes or playa lakes.
– Ongoing shifts in the region’s population from rural areas to urban centers will interact with a changing climate, resulting in a variety of consequences.
Midwest
– Projected increases in temperature, evaporation, and drought frequency add to concerns about the region’s declining water resources.
– Agriculture, ranching, and natural lands, already under pressure due to an increasingly limited water supply, are very likely to also be stressed by rising temperatures.
– Climate change is likely to affect native plant and animal species by altering key habitats such as the wetland ecosystems known as prairie potholes or playa lakes.
– Ongoing shifts in the region’s population from rural areas to urban centers will interact with a changing climate, resulting in a variety of consequences.
Northeast
– Extreme heat and declining air quality are likely to pose increasing problems for human health, especially in urban areas.
– Agricultural production, including dairy, fruit, and maple syrup, are likely to be adversely affected as favorable climates shift.
– Severe flooding due to sea-level rise and heavy downpours is likely to occur more frequently.
– The projected reduction in snow cover will adversely affect winter recreation and the industries that rely upon it.
– The center of lobster fisheries is projected to continue its northward shift and the cod fishery on Georges Bank is likely to be diminished.
Southeast
– Projected increases in air and water temperatures will cause heat-related stresses for people, plants, and animals.
– Decreased water availability is very likely to affect the region’s economy as well as its natural systems.
– Sea-level rise and the likely increase in hurricane intensity and associated storm surge will be among the most serious consequences of climate change.
– Ecological thresholds are likely to be crossed throughout the region, causing major disruptions to ecosystems and to the benefits they provide to people.
– Quality of life will be affected by increasing heat stress, water scarcity, severe weather events, and reduced availability of insurance for at-risk properties.
Islands (in the Pacific and the Caribbean)
<< What will Earth be like in 2099? | Main– The availability of freshwater is likely to be reduced, with significant implications for island communities, economies, and resources.
– Island communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems are vulnerable to coastal inundation due to sea-level rise and coastal storms.
– Climate changes affecting coastal and marine ecosystems will have major implications for tourism and fisheries.
Comments
2. John D. Froelich | 06.16.09
And the icecaps of Mar are melting, too!
But the HUMAN aspect of this is too SMALL to matter.
3. chall | 06.16.09
That is quite possibly the most laughable peice of junk information this or any past administrations has reported. How many “likely to affect” statements does one need to read to know this is bogus information with no factual representation?
Wake up folks!
4. J. E. McTaggart | 06.16.09
I recently saw Christopher Lord Monckton speak on this topic. His presentation was phenomenal. I had been skeptical of his argument, but now I am completely convinced that he is correct!
5. snaxalotl | 06.16.09
oh look, Dave without a tertiary education knows more than the experts. Oh why oh why can’t we put Dave in charge (tearing shirt) … I really miss the guy who ran things with his gut instead of his head
6. Arthur E. LEMAY | 06.16.09
This is pure ****. There is no scientific justification for any of this kind of thing. They could tell us the sky is falling down and we are expected to believe it?
These are Government employees who have read the discredited UN reports and wish to get big promotions and raises in the administration of the “cap and tax” scheme. This is a report by people whose jobs depend on climate alarmism.
It is a scandal that any news organization could publish such nonsense. These people are confidence tricksters. The earth is not warming, it is cooling. Haven’t they read anything since 1998?
UGH!
7. Paul | 06.16.09
Climate change will cause, as it has for many millenium, adaptation by the more survivalist species. That used to include humans. These days, some refuse to adapt and instead wish to change the climate. Good luck with that, I hope to adapt and survive.
8. Paul Mason | 06.16.09
Global warming is a fraud, based on fraudulent data, purveyed by crooks.
The world is getting colder.
The global-warming crooks should be tried, convicted, and jailed for their fraud. Give Al Gore 20 years in a “bigger house”.
9. William McKillop | 06.16.09
Global Warming: It’s the Sun, Stupid
The main cause of global warming appears to be change in solar activity and change in the earth’s orbit and tilt. Recent reductions in sunspots on the solar surface suggest that we may be entering into a cooling period.
Humans are responsible for only 2% to 5% of total carbon dioxide emissions and less than two-tenths of one percent (0.2%) of total greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere each year.
Higher temperatures increase non-human emissions of carbon dioxide from plant-life and the sea.
More than 17,000 scientists signed the Oregon Petition against the Kyoto Protocol because they saw “no compelling evidence that humans are causing discernible climate change.”
The Kyoto Protocol would cost the U.S. economy $100 to $200 billion per year, as estimated by the Clinton Department of Energy.
Kyoto would restrain temperature increases by less than one degree and delay global warming by only six years.
Kyoto was rejected by the U.S. Senate 95-0.
It is very likely that the so-called scientists on the IPCC assumed beforehand that global warming was due to CO2 and then, instead of treating it as a hypothesis, they estimated a simple, incomplete, relationship between temperature change and CO2. A bad model can always be used to provide a desired result.
11. Swamp | 06.16.09
Interesting, as usual.. Only the scientists that promote the agenda of “control” gets any face time. The NASA scientist that completely refutes this “man made” nonsense may have lost their jobs. There is, in fact, a large number, and growing, of scientist that have registered opinions that completely disagree with this ****. But, of course, it’s about money and control. Al Gore, and his ilk will make an even larger killing off of this scam. Ol’ Al buys “carbon offsets from his own setup, and anyone else that buys carbon offsets will put cash in his pockets as well. And, BTW, sanxalotl, I’ll take ol’ Dave’s opinion over these so called experts. I remember the last time the “experts” were ranting and raving about the “ice age” in the 70s. Their poor hands were almost wrung off with terror…so, let us hear from the other experts that aren’t looking to sell their integrity for a grant. I don’t think the media will give them a crack to peep through.
12. hsr0601 | 06.17.09
In response to the skepticism climate change is both real and a product of human activities, I,d encourage them to think of Beijing sky.
The current consumption of dirty, noxious energy reminds me of human smoking habit.
14. Tom | 06.17.09
If the climate isn’t warming, why are we losing so much ice? Take a good look at Greenland, and the summer ice melts in the arctic. Almost all the glaciers in the world are shrinking; some are now gone as of 2008. You don’t need government experts to tell you when a glacier disappears.
15. foofighter | 06.17.09
I don’t care what you call it. Our oceans need to be purified, we need to drive cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars, we need to not strip all the Rain Forests on the earth, we need to not over-fish until all the fish are gone,we need to conserve water, we need to not dump unused pills down the toilet, we need to stop using coal, we need to control industries that spew soot and poison into the atmosphere, we need to not ruin our natural parks and wildernesses, we need to not strip areas that disrupt bird and animal migrations, we need to use energy efficient light bulbs, etc etc etc.
16. Geno Canto del Halcon | 06.17.09
One of the consequences of rising carbon dioxide level may be that people get more stupid (CO2 has deletrous neurological effects at higher levels, which is why building codes limit interior CO2 levels). Those who are certain that global warming is a “fraud” are a case in point. Those who are certain that human kind faces a catastrophe, and there’s nothing we can do, are futher evidence of this possibility.
Based on solar iradiance trends now being observed, as well as projections of Milankovitch’s theory, the global climate SHOULD be getting cooler. Been to Alaska, lately? I have, and there is ample evidence there that Alaska is getting warmer.
17. pata | 06.17.09
Don’t panic, it takes less than one quarter turn of your wrist to stop the noise from hate-radio. While anti-factual tirades may rouse the fighting juices, it’s much more healthful and productive to entertain systematically achieved knowledge.
Even if the truth hurts too much to believe, the overwhelming majority of the developed world can save significant amounts of $$ CASH every month, by beginning to practice energy-efficiency, easily, within just a few days. And without impinging on your lifestyle.
My own household utilities costs are down by more than 70% compared to the average of the last 4 years. And, no, we did not sacrifice anything we cared about. Nothing. Most of the changes cost us little to zero: 90% of the reduction was effected by plugging air leaks, at a total price of less than $60 plus about a dozen hours of light physical labor. The project continues, energy costs decrease, so far, by thousands of dollars in less than a year.
Most of us, especially in America, waste prodigious amounts of fuel. In America, the average household burns through 700 to 750 kiloWatt-hours of electricity per month. Our Canadian neighbors average about 300 kiloWatt-hours per month.
In the average American house, 80% of energy loss is due to air infiltration. There are some excellent books on renewable energy DIY that start out with easy-to-follow instructions for plugging those air leaks that waste so much money.
You are not required to give up one bit of YOUR LIFESTYLE in order to save bags of money and live more comfortably.
18. JPA | 06.22.09
I live in the Southeast and we’re seeing the effects of warming. For the last ten years we’ve had significantly less rainfall, especially during the summer months. Normal summers used to witness afternoon thunderstorms almost daily, which also cooled the hottest part of the day. Now we go a month with no rainfall, causing extreme stress on vegetation and ecosystems that are used to plentiful summer rain. Right now we are in another drought, having no rain for at least three weeks. We are also experiencing temperatures seven degrees above normal, for about two weeks now. No one in their right mind would say down here that we are not witnessing long-term changes in our local climate. From the look of things, people in other regions of the country must also be witnessing long-term changes. Biologists have been observing changes in ecosystem structure and function for many years now.
The people who produced this government report aren’t just copying and pasting IPCC paragraphs; they are analyzing long-term data and their conclusions fit with observation.
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1. Dave Risner | 06.16.09
I wish there was some way we could cause the globe warm. Perhaps that would lessen the effects of the ice-age we`re heading for.