(Per Federal Register Notice)
(Public Comments Submitted)
Posted on 06/02/2002 7:46:20 PM PDT by JerseyHighlander
The United States of America's Third National
Communication Under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change
FINAL VERSION
Hard copies of this report will not be published for several months. Ordering information will be available on this page once copies are available.
(Per Federal Register Notice)
(Public Comments Submitted)
All files listed in the Table of Contents are available for viewing or download in Adobe Acrobat 5.0 format. The Acrobat Reader is available at no cost from Adobe Systems.
Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview (197k pdf) – Summarizes the main elements of the report.
Chapter 2. National Circumstances (450k pdf) – Presents a snapshot of the national characteristics of the United States that play a role in climate change, including the country's climate, geography, economy, demographic trends, energy production and consumption, and natural resources.
Chapter 3. Greenhouse Gas Inventory (442k pdf) – Provides a broad overview of all U.S. greenhouse gas emission sources and sinks, introduces key concepts, and discusses the primary drivers for the growth in emissions. All material in the chapter is drawn from the U.S. Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–1999.
Chapter 4. Policies and Measures (320k pdf) – Reviews national policies to limit emissions and enhance sinks of greenhouse gases undertaken since 1990.
Chapter 5. Projections (322k pdf) – Quantifies the aggregate effects on greenhouse gas emissions of policies and measures implemented or planned from 1990 to 2020.
Chapter 6. Vulnerability (1.5M pdf) – Addresses U.S. vulnerabilities to the adverse consequences of climate change and identifies the most promising adaptation measures being explored.
Chapter 7. Financial Resources (426k pdf) – Reviews U.S. efforts with other countries to assist with mitigation and sequestration strategies, build human and institutional capacity to address climate change, and facilitate the commercial transfer of technology.
Chapter 8. Research and Observation (296k pdf) – Discusses research efforts involving prediction of climate change, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation and new technologies. This chapter also provides an overview of U.S. work on Global Climate Observing Systems.
Chapter 9. Education, Training, and Awareness (269k pdf) – Addresses programs to educate and train students and citizens in areas related to climate change and reviews U.S. outreach activities to disseminate information about global climate change.
Appendix A: Emission Trends. (1.9M pdf)
Appendix B: Policies and Measures. (1.5M pdf)
Appendix D: Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions. (264k pdf)
Appendix E: Bibliography. (197k pdf)
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/nwinsite.html
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/actions/national/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/publications/index.html
Thanks for the info.
GLOBAL WARMING Climate  Changing Atmosphere | Changing Climate |
|
AN INTRODUCTIONAccording to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed although uncertainties exist about exactly how earth’s climate responds to them. Go to the Emissions section for much more on greenhouse gases.
Our Changing Atmosphere
Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.Without this natural “greenhouse effect,” temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth’s average temperature is a more hospitable 60°F. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases.Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth’s atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally.Why are greenhouse gas concentrations increasing? Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans.What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions, and 18% of nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions. In 1997, the United States emitted about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gases.Estimating future emissions is difficult, because it depends on demographic, economic, technological, policy, and institutional developments. Several emissions scenarios have been developed based on differing projections of these underlying factors. For example, by 2100, in the absence of emissions control policies, carbon dioxide concentrations are projected to be 30-150% higher than today’s levels.
Changing ClimateGlobal mean surface temperatures have increased 0.5-1.0°F since the late 19th century. The 20th century's 10 warmest years all occurred in the last 15 years of the century. Of these, 1998 was the warmest year on record. The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Globally, sea level has risen 4-8 inches over the past century. Worldwide precipitation over land has increased by about one percent. The frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased throughout much of the United States.
Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate of climate change. Scientists expect that the average global surface temperature could rise 1-4.5°F (0.6-2.5°C) in the next fifty years, and 2.2-10°F (1.4-5.8°C) in the next century, with significant regional variation. Evaporation will increase as the climate warms, which will increase average global precipitation. Soil moisture is likely to decline in many regions, and intense rainstorms are likely to become more frequent. Sea level is likely to rise two feet along most of the U.S. coast.Calculations of climate change for specific areas are much less reliable than global ones, and it is unclear whether regional climate will become more variable.-----------------------------------------------------
I found this educational page referred to by the report in the education chapter.
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Just wondering how many times in a row you're going to fall for drivel from Drudge. You were claiming last week that Bush had "reversed" his global warming position, yes...
I don't understand my party any longer even if no new policies go into effect it will still give lots of ammo for the whackos - file.
I don't buy your friend's position that "among all reasonable scientist it's pretty much settled that a lot of recent warming trend, since 1940s, is attributable to human activity." If we don't know the climatological baseline, we don't know what "warmer" is. A lot of "reasonable scientists" understand this.
And set aside the Earth for a moment. What's the baseline for the Sun?
Wishful thinking aside, you don't know, nor does your friend, nor do any of his friends.
"This temperature update presents the NASA satellite measurements of monthly temperature anomalies—the difference between the observed values and the 1979–1998 mean values. Global satellite measurements are made from a series of orbiting platforms that sense the average temperature in various atmospheric layers. Here, we present the lowest level, which matches nearly perfectly with the mean temperatures measured by weather balloons in the layer between 5,000 and 28,000 feet. The satellite measurements are considered accurate to within 0.01 deg C and provide more uniform coverage of the entire globe than surface measurements, which tend to concentrate over land.
"April 2002: The global average temperature departure was 0.196deg C; the Northern Hemisphere temperature departure was 0.159°C; and the Southern Hemisphere departure was 0.232 deg C.
"Below: Monthly satellite temperatures for the Northern Hemisphere (top) and Southern Hemisphere (bottom). Trend lines indicate statistically significant changes only."
5,217 times.
Well, 5,216, now.
shrug...... thats what the report said. I don't see that it makes any since either.
Help-- the sky is falling.
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.
know the American people generally get what they want, but not always. To make my point, we have a See, I Told You So that took less than 24 hours to occur. 
Now, what did I say on Wednesday? I didn't decry that - I decried the reasoning. The announcement of this policy pretty much put the nail in the coffin on the whole ANWR effort. The environmentalist wackos jumped all over this and said if it's unsafe to drill in Florida for gas or oil, then how can it be safe in Alaska? I guess I've been wrong about this all along. 
