In what can only be described as an ominous start to the year, a 60-person federal advisory committee has released a draft report outlining the future of the United States' climate. The forecast? More heat, more scattered rain patterns, and more problems for the coast.
The draft is the product of the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee (NCADAC), and involved the participation of more than 240 authors.
"Evidence for climate change abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans. This evidence has been compiled by scientists and engineers from around the world, using satellites, weather balloons, thermometers, buoys, and other observing systems. The sum total of this evidence tells an unambiguous story: the planet is warming," reads the report.
The NCADAC also states that temperatures will continue to reach record-breaking levels at an unprecedented pace. The higher temperatures mean more ice will melt, and that in turn means that sea levels will rise, which then affects weather patterns even more. It's a vicious cycle, and one that the report warns will not only cause environmental damage, but societal and health-related problems as well.
"Climate change produces a variety of stresses on society, affecting human health, natural ecosystems, built environments, and existing social, institutional, and legal agreements. These stresses interact with each other and with other non-climate stresses, such as habitat fragmentation, pollution, increased consumption patterns, and biodiversity loss."
While the committee does address the issue of adaptation, or "changes made to better respond to new conditions," it does not offer specific policies to implement. Instead, it is meant as a guideline, and most of all, a public reminder that if anything, we need to accept the fact there are going to be some major problems to deal with in the future.
Read the full draft here.
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