Posted on 11/04/2017 7:56:15 AM PDT by Ennis85
An extensive report published by the federal government Friday asserts that humans are the primary driver of climate change, causing higher temperatures, sea level rise, agriculture problems and more.
The report, the first volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, is years in the making, and involved contributions from more than a dozen federal agencies.
It is meant to be an authoritative assessment of the current state of climate change science.
Many of the report’s conclusions directly contradict the Trump administration’s positions on climate change.
For example, Trump officials like Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt and Energy Secretary Rick Perry say they can’t be sure whether human-caused greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are the primary cause of climate change.
But the Climate Assessment plainly states that is the case.
“This assessment concludes, based on extensive evidence, that it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century,” it says. “For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence.”
"Globally averaged, annually averaged surface air temperature has increased by about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 degree Centigrade, over the last 115 years," David Fahey, an atmospheric scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and one of the leading authors of the report, told reporters. "This period is now the warmest in the history of modern civilization."
The report cites “thousands of studies conducted by researchers around the world” that show evidence of a warming globe, including “changes in surface, atmospheric, and oceanic temperatures; melting glaciers; diminishing snow cover; shrinking sea ice; rising sea levels; ocean acidification; and increasing atmospheric water vapor.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.