The 2014 National Climate Assessment
By Anne L. Hall
It's not difficult to read. It's got powerful pictures and clear evidence. Moreover — it's scary.
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"Americans are noticing changes all around them," it begins. "Summers 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. Rain comes in heavier downpours. People are seeing changes in the length and severity of seasonal allergies, the plant varieties that thrive in their gardens and the kinds of birds they see in any particular month in their neighborhoods."
The 2014 National Climate Assessment goes on to describe the dramatic changes happening now in our country: Coastal cities' streets are flooding with more regularity. Inland cities near large rivers are flooding with more regularity. Wildfires in the West start earlier and burn longer.
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Information from weather stations, satellites, ocean buoys, tide gauges and other sources all points to the same thing: America is heating up.
"What is new over the last decade is that we know with increasing certainty that climate change is happening now," the report says. "And the warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These emissions come mainly from burning coal, oil and gas, with additional contributions from forest clearing and some agricultural practices."
Predicted threats for Florida and the Southeast include ecological and economic damages from sea-level rises, extreme heat events and scarcer fresh water: "Major consequences include significant increases in the number of hot days (95°F or above) and decreases in freezing events. Higher temperatures contribute to the formation of harmful air pollutants and allergens. Higher temperatures are also projected to reduce livestock and crop productivity. Climate change is expected to increase harmful blooms of algae and several disease-causing agents in inland and coastal waters."
It notes that we've been getting an increasing number Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the North Atlantic, as well as heavy rainstorms, and predicts further increases.
This assessment, released May 6, includes research from nearly 300 experts in climate change science and was reviewed by federal agencies and a panel from the National Academy of Sciences.
To read it online, visit nca2014.globalchange.gov
