Draft National Climate Assessment Released The United States
Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released its draft
National Climate Assessment this week, just a week after the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the
United States experienced its warmest year on record. The report
is the flagship climate change assessment for the United States,
according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). "This
could help restart a national conversation about climate
change," said Todd Sanford, a UCS climate scientist. "It gives
us a road map for climate change. And the road is much bumpier
if we continue along a higher emissions pathway." While the
report is in draft form and will not be finalized for months, it
integrates developments in climate science since the agency’s
last report in 2009. The impacts of climate change — including
increasingly high temperatures and rising sea levels -- are more
apparent and extreme impacts are becoming more likely as global
emissions rise. At the same t