Posted on 05/06/2014 6:37:33 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Climate change affecting every region of US, new WH report finds
By Laura Barron-Lopez - 05/06/14 09:08 AM EDT
A new White House report released Tuesday concludes that human-generated climate change is having dramatic effects on every part of the nation.
The National Climate Assessment, which the administration touted as the most comprehensive look yet at global warming in the U.S., concludes that climate change is raising temperatures, making water more scarce and wildfires more common.
It said climate change has “moved firmly into the present” for the U.S., underscoring the need for urgent action to combat threats.
“Americans are noticing changes all around them,” the report states. “Summer are longer and hotter, and extended periods of unusual heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer.”
The report adds that coastal residents are seeing “more dramatic” changes with the increase of flooding.
“Observations unequivocally show that climate is changing and that the warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human-induced emissions of heat trapping gases,” the report states.
President Obama, who has made combatting climate change a central part of his second term, plans extensive outreach on Tuesday to spread the findings of the report.
Obama plans to conduct one-on-one interviews with national and local TV meteorologists Tuesday, in what some have called a new strategy for the administration to communicate his climate agenda.
Obama's administration is pursuing new rules on carbon-emitting coal-powered plants as part of an effort to tackle climate change. The administration also recently punted a decision on building the Keystone XL pipeline, which environmental groups argue would significantly add to climate change.
Skeptics called the report another “scare tactic” by the administration.
“Facing a recovering, yet fragile, economy, with families across the country struggling to make ends meet, it is concerning that the Obama Administration is busy promoting its politically driven climate change agenda, instead of addressing the real issues plaguing our nation,” said Laura Sheehan, of the American Coalition for Clean Coal.
Critics of the Obama’s climate agenda argue that rather than pressing action on cutting emissions overseas, the administration should visit U.S. communities being impacted by the “costly regulations” on power plants it is working to finalize.
The highly publicized report comes on the heels of the United Nations global climate change report, which offered similar conclusions for the planet.
The new report includes research and evidence from 13 federal agencies. It found the average temperature in the U.S. has increased by 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit, coming in at 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1895.
A majority of that increase took place since 1970, the report states. And the most recent decade was the nation’s hottest on record, with 2012 being the hottest year on record in the U.S.
The change in climate in the last 50 years, the report concludes, is a result of human activities, mainly from the burning of fossil-fuel energy sources.
The report breaks the U.S. into seven regions, detailing specific climate changes in each.
It said climate change is leading to drought in the Southwest, greater heat waves and precipitation in the Northeast, and lower crop yields as a result of rising carbon dioxide in the Midwest.
Yea buddy, this winter was short and very mild. Thank you government for setting that straight. Lying Asshats
Obama you can take your Warming, Change, Disruption, and whatever else future nonsense and and shove it up your Obama.
Thanks and as they say, “It takes one to know one.” ;-]
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.