If the Trump administration is trying to bury something, then I want to put a spotlight on it. In today’s example, they are attempting to hide information that is not just going to affect the next generations, but is affecting us right now.
The day after Thanksgiving is notorious as a day where organizations try to bury a big, negative story. And sure enough, the Trump administration decided to dump the federally mandated climate study, a report that wasn’t due until December.
The report, which focuses on the U.S. and is published every 4 years, is compiled by over a dozen federal agencies and with the help of over 300 scientists, half of whom don’t work for the government. It is the second volume of this particular report — the first volume concluded that the Earth’s climate is changing in a way never seen before, and that the only convincing reason was human activities.
Here are some of their dire findings:
✦ Hotter temperatures mean that there will be an increase in disease carrying insects like mosquitos, resulting in more illnesses such as Zika and dengue.
✦ Air pollution will continue to worsen and contribute to more respiratory and cardiovascular health problems. Asthma and allergies will be worse.
✦ People will be exposed to more foodborne and waterborne diseases.
✦ The risk of devastating fires in Southern California will double by 2050. Southeastern states will also see more wildfires in the coming years.
✦ The Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southern Great Plains will see more extreme rain and suffer more floods, and not just because of hurricanes.
✦ In the Southwest, climate change is bringing more drought followed by extreme rainstorms which precipitates more flash floods and landslides.
✦ Dependable and safe water sources, especially on islands such as Hawaii, will be threatened.
✦ Along the U.S. coasts, real estate and infrastructure are threatened by floods, storm surges, and rising sea water with a cost of up to $1 trillion.
✦ The number of days the U.S. sees over 100° F will continue to rise; Chicago could see weather as extreme as Phoenix.
✦ By 2050, the Arctic could lose all of its sea ice.
✦ Farmers will face tougher times as rising temperatures will make growing seasons shorter, and will affect the quality of crops they can grow.
✦ Red tides, like the one Florida just saw and killed sea life, will become more frequent.
✦ Property damage and business losses due to climate change will continue to grow and could reach in the the hundreds of billions ANNUALLY.
“The real leading edge of action in the United States, now, to deal with climate change is at the non-federal level. It’s states, it’s cities, it’s businesses,” says Andrew Light, one of the report’s editors. The report does not make specific policy recommendations, but is instead is a resource for leaders in every level of government.
You can read the full report here: Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report or a good summary HERE.
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Categories: Explainers
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