In case you missed it over the holiday weekend, on late Friday afternoon, the federal government released a worrying new report about climate change. Over 1,600-plus pages, the report explains in blunt terms all the ways that climate change will harm the environment, devastate the economy, and imperil the lives of millions of Americans.
The fourth National Climate Assessment shares many similarities with the first, which was released in 2000. Both studies find that temperatures in the United States could rise by as much as 9 degrees Celsius by the end of the century; that droughts and heatwaves will become more common; that sea-level rise and storm surges will threaten coastal communities and infrastructure. But the differences in the tone and framing of the reports is stark. The 2000 National Climate Assessment takes for granted the role that man-made emissions plays in climate change, noting on page three that "future emissions will have to be curbed to stabilize climate."
The fourth assessment—released under a climate skeptic president and a White House that's expected to discount its findings—states in the very first sentence that "Earth's climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities."
[For more on this story by KATE WHEELING, go to https://psmag.com/environment/...t-changed-since-2000]
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