National Climate Impact Report
On the heels of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports on impacts and mitigation strategies released in March and April, we have the 6 May release of the National Climate Impact report. The U.S. report, published every four years, reviews the same science and trends as the IPCC documents but of course with a focus on U.S. concerns.
The assessment addresses each of ten regions of the U.S. For each region, the report summarizes messages and discusses details. For my home region, the Midwest, the messages cover agriculture, forestry, human health, our energy-intensive economy, extreme rainfall events and flooding, and impacts on the Great Lakes.
For us here in the Midwest, the report says we have an opportunity to continue to drive use of fossil fuel lower. Ironically, less use of Midwest coal at home now is accompanied by exports to Europe, according to a Wall Street Journal story, also on 6 May.
The NCI report writers did a good job of making a complex story accessible, with a clean web design and consistent organization. Intelligent action to both mitigate impacts and adapt to changes remains the challenge but I am glad to see such a clear presentation of climate impacts by the federal agencies, the affiliated authors and the reviewers at the National Academy of Sciences.
