It's here!

New Report Shows That Climate Change Is Already Having Major Impact

By Mindy Fischer

A brand new report was released Tuesday by the U.S. government saying that climate change is already having a major impact on us, affecting both the weather and our economy. 

It seems that people who are convinced that if this is a problem at all, it is a problem for the distant future, are clearly not paying attention. This report points out serious changes going on all over the country and concludes that man-made climate change is already causing problems, and it is only strengthening.

This report is the third National Climate Assessment and it certainly seems to be the most comprehensive analysis that the government has ever done. They used more than 300 experts, who were led by a Federal Advisory Committee with some 60 members. And according to the report’s overview,

“Climate change is already affecting the American people in far-reaching ways. Certain types of extreme weather events with links to climate change have become more frequent and/or intense, including prolonged periods of heat, heavy downpours, and, in some regions, floods and droughts. In addition, warming is causing sea level to rise and glaciers and Arctic sea ice to melt, and oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb carbon dioxide. These and other aspects of climate change are disrupting people’s lives and damaging some sectors of our economy.”

One of the major differences between this report and the two that came before it, is that scientists now are far more convinced that most of the planet’s warming is being caused directly by humans….specifically, the burning of fossil fuels. This chart from the report shows where the planet’s temperatures would be based on natural factors versus human influence.

Here is another graphic that shows ten strong indicators of global warming. The white arrows show the increasing trends, while the black arrows show the decreasing trends.

This next chart clearly shows the “clear national trend toward a greater amount of precipitation being concentrated in very heavy events, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest.” 

In other words, it shows how we are experiencing massive rain fall.As this latest report shows, the impacts of climate change are already quite evident, and they are expected to become more and more disruptive to our daily lives. 

If we look at regions of the U.S. we can easily see things like longer and warmer summer seasons and shorter winters. This could actually have a beneficial affect on the economy in some places when you look at longer harvest and growing seasons for farmers, for example. 

But at the same time, these longer and warmer growing seasons when combined with carbon dioxide levels actually produce far more pollen. We’ve seen this already with longer and more intense allergy seasons for so many in this country.

The bottom line of this report is that we can no longer procrastinate about climate change. The overwhelming scientific evidence proves that climate change is already affecting the American people now. And what we decide to do about it will affect our immediate future, along with the lives of future generations.

Mindy Fischer is a lefty-liberal, freelance political writer. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter