For Northeast, a harsh vision of climate change

Post date: May 7, 2014 3:46:28 PM

For Northeast, a harsh vision of climate change

By David Abel and Matt Viser | GLOBE STAFF MAY 07, 2014

The Northeast is bearing the brunt of climate change in the nation, assaulted by heat waves, torrential rains, and flooding that are the result of human action, according to a federal report released Tuesday. This new report warns human-driven climate change is having dramatic health, ecological and financial impacts across the United States. The White House’s "National Climate Assessment" is reportedly the largest, most comprehensive U.S.-focused climate change study ever produced. It details how the consequences of climate change are hitting on several fronts — rising sea levels along the coasts, droughts and fires in the Southwest, and extreme rainfall across the country. President Obama’s science adviser, John Holdren, said climate change is no longer a future threat, but happening in the present. Dr. John Holdren:

"The contents confirm that climate change is not a distant threat. It is affecting the American people already. On the whole, summers are longer and hotter with longer periods of extended heat. Wildfires start earlier in the spring and continue later into the fall. Rain comes down in heavier downpours. People are experiencing changes in the length and severity of seasonal allergies. And climate disruptions to water resources and agriculture have been increasing."

The report warns that unless greenhouse emissions are curbed, U.S. temperatures could increase up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.