On November 14, 2006 the Center for Biological Diversity, and other parties, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Bush Administration charging that it had failed to meet the requirement of the Global Change Research Act of 1990 to provide Congress with an revised Research Plan every 3 years and a "Scientific Assessment" every 4 years.
The initial Scientific Assessment was submitted by the Administration to Congress on October 21, 2000, but with distribution and other restrictions. While the 2000 submission triggered the requirement for the next Scientific Assessment to be submitted to Congress in November of 2004 no Assessment was submitted, and in April, 2005 the General Accounting Office issued a report concluding that the Administration had not meet the requirements of the Act and was not on track to do so.
In August, 2007 U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong ruled that the facts of the case were not in dispute, and established firm deadlines for the publication of the updated Research Plan (March 1, 2008) and the overdue submission of the Scientific Assessment (May 31, 2008).
In compliance with the Court order, on May 29th, 2008, the Executive Office of the President of the United States released the "Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States" (http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/scientific-assessment/) and a companion "Summary and Findings"(http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/scientific-assessment/6-SA-FAQ-LO-RES.pdf). The Assessment is actually a synthesis of 16 federal government research programs, only one of which has been published to date, and is a clear acceptance of human-caused Climate Change and comprehensive overview of substantial impacts of Climate Change upon the United States.
The purpose of the Global Change Research Act of 1990 was to: "provide for the development and coordination of a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change". As the first, publicly available, official government, comprehensive overview of Climate Change in the United States the 261 page 2008 "Scientific Assessment" is, per sea, a significant document. Additionally as the one the first major products of the fledgling U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), a cooperative research program by 13 federal agencies, the Assessment provides a thorough scientific review and foundation for sound policy-making. Additionally, the Assessment provides an outstanding public education tool. It can be anticipated that future publications from the CCSP will build upon this foundation as additional research is conducted and the findings published.
The excerpted material below is a direct quote from the "Summary and Findings" brochure (http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/scientific-assessment/6-SA-FAQ-LO-RES.pdf).
"WHAT ARE THE MAJOR IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE UNITED STATES?
It is very likely that temperature increases, increasing carbon dioxide levels, and altered patterns of precipitation are already affecting U.S. water resources, agriculture, land resources, biodiversity, and human health, among other things. And it is very likely that climate change will continue to have significant effects on these resources over the next few decades and beyond. A very brief summary of the key findings of climate impacts on the United States follows.
The Natural Environment
Ecosystems provide society with a number of goods (e.g., food, fiber, fuel, pharmaceutical products) and services (e.g., cycling of water and nutrients, removal of waste products, sustaining biological diversity) and are essential to human health and well- being:
• The resilience of many ecosystems is likely to be exceeded this century by an unprecedented combination of climate change, associated disturbances (e.g., flooding, drought, wildfire, insects, ocean acidification), and other global change drivers (e.g., land-use change, pollution).
• In North America, warming has generally resulted in and is expected to continue to result in shifts of species ranges poleward and to higher altitudes.
Agriculture
The many U.S. crops and livestock (valued at about $200 billion in 2002) are strongly affected by climate:
• The marketable yield of many horticultural crops (e.g., tomatoes, onions, and fruits) is very likely to be more sensitive to climate change than grain and oilseed crops.
• Higher temperatures will very likely reduce livestock production during the summer season, but these losses will very likely be partially offset by warmer temperatures during the winter season.
Water
Although U.S. water management practices are generally quite advanced, particularly in the West, the reliance on past conditions as the foundation for current and future planning and practice will no longer be tenable as climate change and variability increasingly create conditions that are well outside of historical parameters, eroding predictability:
• Stream temperatures are likely to increase as the climate warms and are very likely to have effects on aquatic ecosystems and water quality.
• Where earlier snowmelt peaks and reduced low flows in the summer and fall have already been detected, continuing shifts in this direction are very likely and may substantially affect the performance of reservoir systems.
Population and Society
While it may appear that industrialized countries like the United States are well equipped to cope with gradual climate change at a national level, at a local level there may be substantial variability in climate effects and capacities to adapt; on the other hand, some U.S. communities may find opportunities in climate change:
• Population growth is generally shifting toward areas (e.g., coastal regions) more likely to be vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
• For small islands, particularly in the Pacific, some studies suggest that sea-level rise could reduce island size, raising concerns for parts of Hawaii and other U.S. territories.
• Wildfires have increased in extent and severity in recent years and are very likely to intensify in a warmer future. At the same time, the population has been expanding into fire-prone areas.
Health
Climate variability and change can affect health through the effects of temperature changes on the body. Climate change can also make it possible for animal-, water-, and food-borne diseases to spread or emerge in areas where they had been limited or had not existed, or it can make it possible for such diseases to disappear by making areas less hospitable to the disease carrier or pathogen:
• An increased frequency and severity of heat waves is expected, leading to more illness and death, particularly among the young, elderly, frail, and poor.
• Increases in extreme weather (e.g., storms, flooding) and accompanying events (e.g., wildfire resulting from prolonged drought) may lead to increases in deaths, injuries, infectious diseases, interruptions of medical care for chronic disease treatment, and stress-related disorders and other adverse effects associated with social disruption and migration.
Energy
To date, most discussions on energy and climate change have focused on mitigating human effects on climate. However, along with this role as a driver of climate change, the energy sector will be subject to the effects of climate change:
• Direct impacts from increased intensity of extreme weather events.
• Reduced water supplies in regions dependent on water resources for hydropower and/or thermal power plant cooling.
• Positive or negative impacts on production of biomass, wind power, or solar energy where climate conditions change.
Transportation
Increasing global temperatures, rising sea levels, and changing weather patterns pose significant challenges to the Nation’s roads, airports, railways, transit systems, and ports. The transportation network is vital to the U.S. economy and quality of life:
• Increasing frequency, intensity, or duration of heat spells could cause railroad tracks to buckle or kink and could affect roads through softening and traffic-related rutting.
• Coastal and riverine flooding and landslides are very likely to cause negative impacts on roads, rails, and ports.
• Warmer or less snowy winters are likely to improve ground and air transportation reliability, and decrease the need for winter road maintenance. However, more intense winter storms could increase risks for traveler safety and require increased localized snow removal. "
