Today the Union of Concerned Scientists hosted the first of four webinars presenting the results of The National Academies work on climate change with America's Climate Choices.
If you are interested in participating in any of the other webinars, email sciencenetwork@ucsusa.org and ask for information.
From America's Climate Choices
The Department of Commerce Appropriations Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-161) calls for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to execute an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to establish a committee that will "investigate and study the serious and sweeping issues relating to global climate change and make recommendations regarding what steps must be taken and what strategies must be adopted in response to global climate change, including the science and technology challenges thereof."
Today's webinar summarized the first of the reports.
Pamela Matson, chairman of the Panel on Advancing the Science of Climate Change, participated in the webinar along with panel members Suzanne Moser and Ian Kraucunas. They had two main points to share today:
- Climate change is occurring.
- The nation needs a 'new era of climate change research'.
That climate change is occurring mostly due to human-caused activities is settled.
While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never "closed," the report emphasizes that multiple lines of evidence support scientific understanding of climate change. The core phenomenon, scientific questions, and hypotheses have been examined thoroughly and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations.
The webinar summary of the evidence was concise and informative. The rate and pattern of increased CO2 matches the increase in our use of fossil fuels, but does not match changes in other sources, including El Nino and PDO [Pacific Decal Oscillation] cycles. (I had been wondering about how El Nino / La Nina fit into climate change, and I got my answer today.)
Projections for future changes are, of course, uncertain, both for what actions we will take to reduce the rate of change, and what kinds of feedback loops threaten to change the rate of change that is already taking place. Regardless of uncertainty, though, we do know a lot already. We know sea levels are rising, ocean acidification is occurring, and fresh-water resources are being affected. (Regarding this last point, Madson used a good phrase to describe what's occurring: 'the water cycle is speeding up.' So not only does snow pack disappear more rapidly, but rain falls in the form of heavier rains as well, causing the kinds of flooding we have witnessed in the U.S. this spring and summer.)
Suzanne Moser talked about mitigation and adaptation. I know we are all discouraged from the lack of movement on climate change legislation in the U.S. Senate. But it turns out that 34 states already have some sort of climate change plan (admittedly of varying utility), 20 states have emission reduction targets, and 15 have adaptation plans. And numerous governmental bodies at smaller scales have regulations and plans in place. In many places, we are not waiting for the Feds.
So the grand finale was a call for 'a new era of climate change research'.
Although much of the response to climate change will occur at local and regional levels, a national adaptation strategy is needed to facilitate cooperation and collaboration across all lines of government and between government and other key parties, including the private sector, community organizations, and nongovernmental organizations. As part of this strategy, the federal government should provide technical and scientific resources that are lacking at the local or regional scale, incentives for local and state authorities to begin adaptation planning, guidance across jurisdictions, and support of scientific research to expand knowledge of impacts and adaptation.
The report recommends that a single federal entity or program be given the authority and resources to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. The U.S. Global Change Research Program, established in 1990, could fulfill this role, but it would need to form partnerships with action-oriented programs and address weaknesses that in the past have led to research gaps, particularly in the critical area of research that supports decisions about responding to climate change. Leaders of federal climate research should also redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system.
Here is a brief report summary. Go hereto order the full report, read it for free, or download a longer 29 page report summary (free).
There was a Q and A session after the webinar, and one interesting question addressed communication and how to communicate the science to the public. I am going to plug a link at 1Sky (where I guest blog), which addressed this very issue and identified a great resource for communicating climate change information and action. Check it out.