Climate change in the Northeast
Oct. 11th, 2006 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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alobar
Last week, a team of independent scientists and researchers, in collaboration with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), released a new report detailing how global warming is poised to substantially change the climate in the Northeast.
The report—Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast—details the effects heat-trapping emissions will have if they are not curtailed. From rising temperatures to fewer snow covered days, increased sea level, and more extreme weather events—the study demonstrates "The very notion of the Northeast as we know it is at stake. The near-term emissions choices we make in the Northeast and throughout the world will help determine the climate and quality of life our children and grandchildren experience."
Yikes. My first thought is that if anywhere near the amount of change they predict comes to pass, we are in it deep and serious. My second thought is that if it gets this bad in the Northeast, I don't want to even think what it may be like further south. Under the "higher emissions scenario," they estimate that by 2040, New Hampshire's climate could be equivalent to what the Washington, D.C. area has now (hey, I just moved *away* from that...), and New York's climate will be like North Carolina. So what will North Carolina's climate be like, I wonder?
Now would be a very good time to start working for a major decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, and one near-term concrete step would be electing officials who will support tougher CAFE (auto fuel economy) standards, work to get us into the Kyoto Protocol, and stop gutting environmental regulations for the sake of the oil and coal industries. Now that manufacturing and heavy industry is no longer the major part of economic development in the Northeast, most of the serious pollution we see here, including major acid rain problems, comes our way from old, dirty coal-fired power-plants in the midwest. Governments of a number of states in the Northeast have taken power-plant owners to court in order to force them to comply with existing regulations and stop sending quite so much airborne crap our way. But the BushCo administration has worked tirelessly to make sure their buddies in the oil and coal industries can make even more money by avoiding having to install those pesky pollution controls, or lose potential profits if the government proactively created incentives to encourage construction of zero-emissions renewable energy facilities, like the major wind-farm going into the next town over. Nifty that it's finally happening, but it's the first of its kind in New Hampshire, and it should be about the 20th.
The League of Conservation Voters has a Scorecard here which shows how various Congresscritters have done with respect to environmental issues. Pretty grim. But that can change. And it must.
a few key bits from the report:
o Northeast winters could warm by eight to 12 degrees Fahrenheit and summers by six to nearly 14 degrees.
o The length of the region’s winter snow season could be cut in half.
o The frequency of short-term droughts could increase significantly.
o Sea-level could rise from eight inches to as much three feet.
o Many Northeast cities can expect about 25 days per year over 100 degrees. (Currently, Northeast cities experience this type of heat only once or twice a year.)
Below from Union of Concerned Scientists.
======================================
Last week, a team of independent scientists and researchers, in collaboration with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), released a new report detailing how global warming is poised to substantially change the climate in the Northeast.
The report—Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast—details the effects heat-trapping emissions will have if they are not curtailed. From rising temperatures to fewer snow covered days, increased sea level, and more extreme weather events—the study demonstrates "The very notion of the Northeast as we know it is at stake. The near-term emissions choices we make in the Northeast and throughout the world will help determine the climate and quality of life our children and grandchildren experience."
— Dr. Cameron Wake,
Research Associate Professor,
University of New Hampshire's
Climate Change Research Center
Using new state-of-the-art research on recent and projected changes in the Northeast’s regional climate, the study finds that without strong leadership and action, by late-century:
o Northeast winters could warm by eight to 12 degrees Fahrenheit and summers by six to nearly 14 degrees.
o The length of the region’s winter snow season could be cut in half.
o The frequency of short-term droughts could increase significantly.
o Sea-level could rise from eight inches to as much three feet.
o Many Northeast cities can expect about 25 days per year over 100 degrees. (Currently, Northeast cities experience this type of heat only once or twice a year.)
The report provides an accessible overview of these new climate findings and outlines what we can do to reduce global warming pollution from energy use, vehicles, and buildings and industry. Reducing heat-trapping emissions is the most important step to curbing the rate and extent of climate change.
The findings received wide press coverage throughout the Northeast region, including the front pages of the Boston Globe, the Hartford Courant, and the Providence Journal.
To learn more about the report’s findings, view interactive maps and charts from the study, and see how you can reduce global warming pollution in your every day life--check out the new UCS website: www.climatechoices.org
alobarLast week, a team of independent scientists and researchers, in collaboration with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), released a new report detailing how global warming is poised to substantially change the climate in the Northeast.
The report—Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast—details the effects heat-trapping emissions will have if they are not curtailed. From rising temperatures to fewer snow covered days, increased sea level, and more extreme weather events—the study demonstrates "The very notion of the Northeast as we know it is at stake. The near-term emissions choices we make in the Northeast and throughout the world will help determine the climate and quality of life our children and grandchildren experience."
Yikes. My first thought is that if anywhere near the amount of change they predict comes to pass, we are in it deep and serious. My second thought is that if it gets this bad in the Northeast, I don't want to even think what it may be like further south. Under the "higher emissions scenario," they estimate that by 2040, New Hampshire's climate could be equivalent to what the Washington, D.C. area has now (hey, I just moved *away* from that...), and New York's climate will be like North Carolina. So what will North Carolina's climate be like, I wonder?
Now would be a very good time to start working for a major decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, and one near-term concrete step would be electing officials who will support tougher CAFE (auto fuel economy) standards, work to get us into the Kyoto Protocol, and stop gutting environmental regulations for the sake of the oil and coal industries. Now that manufacturing and heavy industry is no longer the major part of economic development in the Northeast, most of the serious pollution we see here, including major acid rain problems, comes our way from old, dirty coal-fired power-plants in the midwest. Governments of a number of states in the Northeast have taken power-plant owners to court in order to force them to comply with existing regulations and stop sending quite so much airborne crap our way. But the BushCo administration has worked tirelessly to make sure their buddies in the oil and coal industries can make even more money by avoiding having to install those pesky pollution controls, or lose potential profits if the government proactively created incentives to encourage construction of zero-emissions renewable energy facilities, like the major wind-farm going into the next town over. Nifty that it's finally happening, but it's the first of its kind in New Hampshire, and it should be about the 20th.
The League of Conservation Voters has a Scorecard here which shows how various Congresscritters have done with respect to environmental issues. Pretty grim. But that can change. And it must.
a few key bits from the report:
o Northeast winters could warm by eight to 12 degrees Fahrenheit and summers by six to nearly 14 degrees.
o The length of the region’s winter snow season could be cut in half.
o The frequency of short-term droughts could increase significantly.
o Sea-level could rise from eight inches to as much three feet.
o Many Northeast cities can expect about 25 days per year over 100 degrees. (Currently, Northeast cities experience this type of heat only once or twice a year.)
Below from Union of Concerned Scientists.
======================================
Last week, a team of independent scientists and researchers, in collaboration with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), released a new report detailing how global warming is poised to substantially change the climate in the Northeast.
The report—Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast—details the effects heat-trapping emissions will have if they are not curtailed. From rising temperatures to fewer snow covered days, increased sea level, and more extreme weather events—the study demonstrates "The very notion of the Northeast as we know it is at stake. The near-term emissions choices we make in the Northeast and throughout the world will help determine the climate and quality of life our children and grandchildren experience."
— Dr. Cameron Wake,
Research Associate Professor,
University of New Hampshire's
Climate Change Research Center
Using new state-of-the-art research on recent and projected changes in the Northeast’s regional climate, the study finds that without strong leadership and action, by late-century:
o Northeast winters could warm by eight to 12 degrees Fahrenheit and summers by six to nearly 14 degrees.
o The length of the region’s winter snow season could be cut in half.
o The frequency of short-term droughts could increase significantly.
o Sea-level could rise from eight inches to as much three feet.
o Many Northeast cities can expect about 25 days per year over 100 degrees. (Currently, Northeast cities experience this type of heat only once or twice a year.)
The report provides an accessible overview of these new climate findings and outlines what we can do to reduce global warming pollution from energy use, vehicles, and buildings and industry. Reducing heat-trapping emissions is the most important step to curbing the rate and extent of climate change.
The findings received wide press coverage throughout the Northeast region, including the front pages of the Boston Globe, the Hartford Courant, and the Providence Journal.
To learn more about the report’s findings, view interactive maps and charts from the study, and see how you can reduce global warming pollution in your every day life--check out the new UCS website: www.climatechoices.org
