Climate Change In The US: What's Happening Now

WASHINGTON — The new climate change science report by the federal government looks at effects of global warming on specific U.S. regions and forecasts what's to come:

NORTHEAST

Already: Winter temperatures have increased by 4 degrees since 1970.

Future: Even warmer winters, harm to the ski industry, extreme heat and polluted air in the summer. The maple syrup industry may move north.

SOUTHEAST:

Already: Spring rainfall is down nearly 30 percent since 1970.

Future: Hotter summer days, polluted air, increased drought, slightly stronger hurricanes.

MIDWEST:

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Already: Ice cover on Great Lakes has plummeted. In some areas winter temperatures have increased by 7 degrees since 1970.

Future: Great Lakes water levels can fall by as much as two feet. Agriculture could be pounded by floods, droughts, more insects and weeds.

GREAT PLAINS

Already: Water levels have dropped by more than 150 feet in some places.

Future: Northern parts of the Great Plains, such as North Dakota, may increase spring rain by up to 40 percent, but southern areas around Texas and Oklahoma can see spring rainfall drop by 40 percent.

SOUTHWEST

Already: Droughts, wildfires and die-offs of some woodlands has increased dramatically.

Future: Spring rainfall in much of the Southwest could drop by 40 percent or more. Water supplies are projected to be increasingly scarce.

NORTHWEST

Already: Snowpack is down by as much as 60 percent, it is melting earlier in the year.

Future: Snowpack is likely to reduce further, as much as 40 percent in the Cascade Mountains.

ALASKA

Already: Alaska is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the United States. Winters have warmed by 6.3 degrees in the past half-century.

Future: Average annual temperatures are expected to rise by as much as another 7 degrees by 2050 and maybe as much as 13 degrees by 2100. Permafrost will thaw more. There will be more bugs.

Comments

[SteveMI]

I just wish they were right.

If you want to know the truth- We've had the worst winter almost in memory in N.Michigan­,
this has been all over the lakes, not anecdotal.
Last 2 years very cold and snowy- Lake levels up 2-3 FEET! on Lake Michigan ft from 2 years ago
(any harbor master will verify this for you)
Ice at record extents- I've never seen it extend beyond the horizon from a hill-top before
We saw snow buntings from the Arctic in our yard for the first time ever.

We would all love if this warming was actually happening (esp. the wildlife)

Is this data just out of date or do they think no one will notice if they make it up?

[BrettnCalgary]

Maybe "they" think that people will understand the concept of "global" versus "local" and "climate" versus "weather".

[Nooooorm]

We understand.

When arsonists start fires in Australia, it's climate change.

When there is a drought somewhere, it's climate change.

If a hurricane strikes land, it's climate change.

Record cold? Weather.

Record snow? Weather.

Arctic ice increasing? Weather.

Antarctic ice at historically high levels? Weather.

Oceans stop warming? Weather.

Please, pass cap-n-trade to reduce emissions by .5% (as posted on this site).

People living on fixed incomes who will have to choose between heating their homes and food will thank you.

[SteveMI]

Well I'm guessing you don't live around, or know anything about the Great Lakes right?

'Future: Great Lakes water levels can fall by as much as two feet'

that would put the level all the way back to last year!! The lakes vary considerably, record low was in the 60's record high was in the 80's and right now it's about perfect, no flooding homes, no dry docks.spin that however you like, but the level is controlled by the Niagra dams and outflow river dredging and snowfall.

Do you have to be scientifically illiterate to be an environmentalist, or does it just help?

[Overtone]

Consumers may drive needed change!

Future cars will need no fuel and can become power plants when parked.

Breakthroughs include the MagGen. These magnetic generators will initially make it possible to cut the cord on a plug-in hybrid so it no longer needs to plug-in. Later, they can replace the batteries in an electric car. Then, the MagGen can run when the car is parked and sell power to the utility. Prototypes are under development.

Next is a Self Powered Internal Combustion Engine - SPICE, which can power a hybrid. It will need no fuel and is another path to ending the need to plug-in. The engine can run when parked. Both systems can wirelessly transmit and sell power to the local utility.

The SPICE will be powered by hydrinos - which let a barrel of water equal hundreds of barrels of oil.

Scientists and engineers will doubt these technologies are possible until they have been validated by Independent Laboratories. That is an important step on the agenda.

Until now, car ownership has been an expense. Payments to car owners driving a hybrid with a SPICE, or powered by MagGen, are likely to be substantial.

The cost of many vehicles might be paid for by utilities, as they purchase power.

Parked cars each become decentralized power plants - a cost-effective path to reducing fossil fuels - and a rebirth of both the automobile industry.

Who will not want to purchase a vehicle that needs no fuel and pays for itself?

[rblackbird]

These sound like perpetual motion machines.

[BrettnCalgary]

I read up on this guys blather some time ago, check his profile. The scientific community does not think much of his ideas.

[lbrty 2112]

If the kooks get their way we'll all be living in wigwams wrapped in hemp blankets to keep from freezing; eating government sanctioned porridge from environmentally approved but woefully inadequate dispensers. All the while the propagandists will be telling us how patriotic / green we are as we squirrel away our carbon credit chits to trade for basic healthcare.

At least we'll have our 'health'

[SteveMI]

Hey this sounds familiar, I think I went to a place like this- it was called Europe! only the places people lived were not as nice as wigwams, more like concrete rabbit hutches, but they seemed quite happy, they didn't really expect any more, it's all relative you see, just relax and enjoy!

[BurtonOerney]

I used to want people to think more about science. Now people struggling to put evidence next to their opinions say things like, 'It's cold in buffalo this year, so the earth isn't warming' or 'global temperature has always changed, so natural cycles must account for any change.' It's weird how this kind of lazy reasoning is behind such passionately held viewpoints. This is a real report written by real scientists who get paid the same no matter what the report says. You could read it and try to find something to dispute, I guess, but just trying to ascribe a profit motive or some shadow government conspiracy is just wasting everybody's time.

[lbrty 2112]

Burton volumes have been written on govt funding / grants etc. (read profit motive) receieved by alleged 'scientists' to study global warming / clilmate change. No global warming, no funding! Why do you believe one group of scientists and not the other? They are both scientists right?

[melmoid]

Wrong. Judging scientists is like buying a car. You have to look at the warranty. Does the scientist have degrees appropriate to his/her alleged area of expertise, how many papers have been published and where, what professional societies does the scientist belong to, etc. Real scientists don't have trouble with funding or finding good jobs at all. A good scientist takes great care of his/her reputation. It is a big deal with scientists. Next time you are sick, for heavens sake don't go to a specialist. After all they have a vested interest in the treatment and get paid money for advocating a particular course of treatment. Some of them have even probably been paid to do research.

[Rhetticent]

Burton, apply your comments to the crap in the article above. "Water levels have dropped more than 1500 feet in some places." This is a nonsense statement used to gin up the level of the crisis.... Where? Why? Could it be a depleted aquifer that has NOTHING to do with climate at all? Where were these measurments taken?

then the classic gorespeak: "Future: Spring rainfall in much of the Southwest could drop by 40 percent or more. Water supplies are projected to be increasingly scarce" Or it could be less. watch how many time the global warmists use "could" "projected to be" "may" "up to" "or more". It's as scientific as a Ouija board.

[BannedNBoston]

Mars is Melting
Mars is Melting. The south polar ice cap of Mars is receding, revealing frosty mountains, rifts ... talk about the martian polar caps "melting" or "vaporizing. science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/07aug_southpole.htmhtm

[fumes]

at a guess..

some martian got a hold of a ford explorer somehow and is out joyriding.

[elmerfude]

Carbon tetrachloride--a type of fume. Exposure to high concentrations of carbon tetrachloride (including vapor) can affect the central nervous system, degenerate the liver and kidneys] and may result (after prolonged exposure) in coma and even death.

[AngieMom57]

"Idiocracy" Twentieth Century Fox has been trying to suppress this movie, the truth of the harsh satirical implications contained in the story are in your face and not.

I dare you to watch it. "Idiocracy" a film directed by Mike Judge.

[AngieMom57]

The great garbage patch in the Pacific ocean is a hoax to get our money?

The pollution in the air and water, necessary for survival, is another hoax?

The fact that most American's eat animal products 3x's a day 7 days a week with lots of sugar, topped off with the prescription drugs to keep them going is a hoax?

Call it what you want, we have "fouled our nest" now we can clean it up or have it clean us out.

[lightningbolt]

To all climate change deniers: the majority of scientists in the world have concluded beyond any doubt that climate change is being caused mainly by pollution. The sun does affect the climate, but not nearly as much as pollution. When you change the index of refraction of the atmosphere by adding another substance in large quantities, such as carbon dioxide, you change the amount of sunlight that the atmosphere can reflect and absorb, which changes the temperature of the planet. It's not that hard to understand, you just need to know basic physics.

[sc300nc]

The majority of scientists in the world see a government funded career out of the climate change hoax. We could reduce the US levels of carbon production by 1/2 and spend a trillion dollars doing it and not notice one iota of difference in the climate.

[lightningbolt]

Have you made calculations to prove your point? I doubt it, you are just repeating what the republicans told you. Show me a scientific study that proves you are right.

[SangZe]

It's a hoax designed to pull more money out of our pockets.

[AngieMom57]

Go drink a glass full of unfiltered water, it may be your last.

[Roguer]

I drink unfiltered water every day... fear mongering is what you are doing... plain and simple... No better than Republicans spreading rumors about Pres. Obama's religion and his "connectio­ns"...

[fumes]

you're a hand-wringer aren't you angiemom57?

[octoberxs]

Money out of our pockets, what are you writing for OPEC?

[SworldPeas]

It's so interesting to read all the deniers claims, they are so sure about themselves yet have no link to scientific studies or an IPCC to substantiate their claims. Their denial is astounding. We are polluting ourselves to death; overconsumption and overpopulation of the planet will be our ultimate downfall the result is; global climate change.

[lightningbolt]

Yep. Stupid people can be very stubborn. They don't respond to facts and science.

[Rhetticent]

Again, watch http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=-4123082535546754758

Watch it all the way through. See the interview with the IPCC Scientists.

Members of the Church of Global Warming can be very stubborn. Instead of looking at places other than the circular references of newspapers to IPCC to newspapers to IPCC, they call anyone with opposing viewpoints "stupid". That's the way to shut off debate, isn't it?

[fumes]

~ BREAKING NEWS ~

''..our ultimate downfall the result is; global climate change.''

no wait.. that can't be right.. global climate change has been ongoing even before god created heaven and earth and all the creatures great and small with the notable exception of the dinosaurs.

never mind..

[octoberxs]

"god created heaven and Earth"? Oh, you're talking about 6000 years ago? =0)

[octoberxs]

The arguments are no longer about science or evidence, it is now a argument of "beliefs". It is a fact that the glaciers of Greenland are melting, it is a fact that arctic ice is 40% thinner, the facts go on and on. The only way someone argues these is with belief not science, that is why the Right's on-line scientist petition as failed every fact check and name cross check. What people are missing is the melting of the permafrost in Alaska, Canada, and Russia. Within this ice lies the gas methane (much greater amounts than currently being produced in the world) and it makes the issue of CO2 mute, if the permafrost goes we have an oven for a planet.

Hey if we tree huggers are wrong the worst consequence of our actions is a loss of money by some, but a greener planet, a new industry here in America, and the cutting off of the money supply to the middle east. Now if the Right is wrong the worst consequence is the human race goes the way of the dinosaur.

[denisew]

I hear you loud and clear.

Our trees are blooming earlier in the spring here in the northeast.

Maple sugar production has to move further north because early spring nights are not cold enough.

The wine country in California is suffering because nights are not cold enough, they will have to move north as well.

[Rhetticent]

Watch this. http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=-4123082535546754758

It includes one of the original IPCC drafters who disputes the global warming theory.

[sc300nc]

Drink your kool-aid little sheep

[AngieMom57]

Lots of sugar and food coloring, the stuff that makes for dysfunctional societies, should have had a warning label put on it years ago.

[Roguer]

Great way to eliminate fringe groups and cults though.

[Roguer]

Not mentioned either is the historical fact that the earth was in a "mini" ice age during the 1700's, 1800's on into the first part of the 20th century. One reason for the exodus from Europe to the new world was the famines caused by the extreme cold. There are stories of Napoleon's men carving chunks out of their horses as they marched. The horses did not bleed because the blood froze immediately.

During the dark ages was another similar phenomenon, tree cross sections from both eras show little to no growth during those times. Where as during the intervening eras there was rapid growth.

Historically Michigan was tropical at one time with palms and crocodiles, etc.

Maybe the biggest issue is, how is man going to adapt to the climate change, and not how are we going to control it.
Humans may have contributed to climate change but we will not be able to control it. If anything the adition of greenhouse gasses pollution will eventually cause global cooling.

[The Meek]

Or in other words, Shtuff Happens. Hurricanes blow in, volcanoes blow up. giant meteors collide with the earth and epidemics ravage.

Then there is human behavior. Why do we insists on building cities on flood plains and then rebuilding them in the same spot after there is a flood.

Let's just use up all our finite resources right now so that the survivors of the catastrophe can go back to being hunter gatherers. We humans are clever little monkeys but we ain't smart enough to run the planet..

Sorry, I'm feeling a little cynical today. I've been reading the opinions on Huffington Post.

[Richard2]

It is interesting that many of the observations about climate change in the U.S. go back well into the 20th Century to find a starting point to note warming. No comments about the trend since 1998. Everyone accepts that the last part of the 20th Century was warmer. However, one viewpoint is that this was caused by natural forces (an unusually warm sun, etc.) while the warmest view is that human generated CO2 is the main cause of the warming.

Since the start of the 21st Century, the climate hasn't warmed. Where are the report's comments that specifically address the climate of the last ten years? During this period, it is agreed that the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere has increased. At the same time, the climate hasn't warmed. It appears the CO2 hypothesis has been disproved, but the government report doesn't mention or discuss this.

[MGhamma]

Realclimate.org, skepticalscience.com, just 2 SCIENCE BASED WEBSITES, can answer most of your questions concerning the climate since 1998, Richard2. And pretty much any other question you may have.

[lbrty 2112]

MGhamma, does the word 'agenda' mean anything to you?

[MGhamma]

"Since the start of the 21st century, the climate hasn't warmed". Sounds more impressive than 'since 9 years ago',the climate hasn't warmed'. Classic hyperbole. LOL!

[SteveMI]

If there is one single fact that converted me to a skeptic. It's that instead of using their own unambiguous satellite data (which shows bugger-all warming) to measure the Earth's temperature. Giss/NASA of all people, use the ground based data, which is not only fudgable, but because of the heat island effect, you HAVE to fudge to avoid a ridiculous outcome, why not go with the scientific reliable satellites, not as dramatic as a weather station that was built in a field and now sits in an asphalt parking lot?

[BlackbirdHighway]

Wrong, you are so totally and completely wrong.

Yes, 2008 was the coolest year since 2000, but it was still warmer than all but ONE of the 90's. That is a clear sign of a continued warming trend.

Eight of the top ten warmest years have occurred since 2000. That is a clear sign of a continued warming trend.

The 2000's were warmer than the 90's, which were warmer than the 80's, which were warmer than the 70's. What part of WARMING TREND do you not get?

Unlike you, I have links to actual scientific data from a very reputable source to back up my claims:

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2008/

So, please, stop all this denier nonsense about cooling.

[lbrty 2112]

Ahhh yes..let's cite the organization who fakes temperature data.

Is there a James Hansen in the house?

[Richard2]

If you view the temperature record as if you were driving along a straight road, 1998 would represent the summit of a hill. Since then, you have been driving on an uneven, slightly lower mesa, and in 2008 you dropped down to a lower elevation. It is foggy, so you don't know if there is another hill in front of you, but most indicators suggest a further elevation decline ahead. Sitting in your car today, you are at a lower elevation than the summit of the 1998 hill behind you. Stepping out of your car into the real world, you are on a cooler planet than in 1998.

[Nooooorm]

The NASA data is pulled from the NCDC.

The NCDC uses measurements from surface stations to proclaim a warming trend.

Unfortunately, 69% of the surface stations don't meet the NCDC's own MINIMUM requirements.

This has been meticulously documented at surfacestations.org.

69% of the stations documented (854 of 1221) fall into the two categories below:

Class 4 (CRN4) (error >= 2C) - Artificial heating sources = 5C) - Temperature sensor located next to/above an artificial heating source, such a building, roof top, parking lot, or concrete surface." (11%)

Faulty climate data is nothing new:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aIe9swvOqwIY

By Alex Morales

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A glitch in satellite sensors caused scientists to underestimate the extent of Arctic sea ice by 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles), a California- size area, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center said.

The error, due to a problem called “sensor drift,” began in early January and caused a slowly growing underestimation of sea ice extent until mid-February. That’s when “puzzled readers” alerted the NSIDC about data showing ice-covered areas as stretches of open ocean, the Boulder, Colorado-based group said on its Web site.

[SworldPeas]

We have 3 USB ports throughout the house, without them the electricity being used is like a dripping faucet that never turns off. When we stopped our leaks it reduced our consumption and our bills went down.
We have one for the TV, VCR, DVD, another for the stereo, cd player, etc and a 3rd for the computer, monitor and rechargers for cellphones (which use electricity if left plugged in)
A USB port saves electricity and money, it's a no brainer.

[Thermodynamics]

From the Arbor Day Foundation:

http://www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm
Great map showing hardiness zone changes - you know, those zones on seed packets.