By Cheryl Pellerin
The first U.S. report in nearly a decade to assess the impacts of climate change in different regions of the United States confirms and extends research that describes rising sea and air temperatures and sea levels, melting ice, intensified hurricanes and many other changes that are happening now. Such changes will continue into the future, affecting water resources, agriculture, coastal areas and health.
Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, called a state-of-knowledge report, was released June 16 during a briefing at the White House by John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The report, in development for more than a year, “tells us why remedial action is needed sooner rather than later,” Holdren said in a statement. It shows “why that action must include both global emissions reductions to reduce the extent of climate change and local adaptation measures to reduce the damage from the changes that are no longer avoidable.”
Findings are based largely on results of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and that Congress included in the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Thirteen federal agencies participate in the work of the USGCRP.
Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, called a state-of-knowledge report, was released June 16 during a briefing at the White House by John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The report, in development for more than a year, “tells us why remedial action is needed sooner rather than later,” Holdren said in a statement. It shows “why that action must include both global emissions reductions to reduce the extent of climate change and local adaptation measures to reduce the damage from the changes that are no longer avoidable.”
Findings are based largely on results of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and that Congress included in the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Thirteen federal agencies participate in the work of the USGCRP.
[See complete article: http://uruguay.usembassy.gov/usaweb/2009/09-208EN.shtml]
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