By: Megan Ceronsky, EDF attorney, and Peter Heisler, legal fellow
The newly-released Third National Climate Assessment has some eye-opening news about climate change.
The report confirms that if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced it is likely that American communities will experience:
- increased severity of dangerous smog and particulate pollution in many regions[1]
- intensified precipitation events, hurricanes, and storm surges[2]
- reduced precipitation and runoff in the arid West[3]
- reduced crop yields and livestock productivity[4]
- increases in fires, insect pests, and the prevalence of diseases transmitted by food, water, and insects[5]
- increased risk of illness and death due to extreme heat[6]
Source: Flickr/Eric Schmuttenmaer
Extreme weather imposes a high cost on our communities, our livelihoods, and our lives. The National Climatic Data Center reports that the United States experienced seven climate disasters that each caused more than a billion dollars of damage in 2013, including the devastating floods in Colorado and extreme droughts in western states.[7]
These are precisely the type of impacts projected to affect American communities with increasing frequency and severity as climate-destabilizing emissions continue to accumulate in the atmosphere.
Fossil fuel-fired power plants are far and away the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, emitting more than two billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2012 — equivalent to 40 percent of U.S. carbon pollution and nearly one-third of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.[8] Read More »
According to the recently released National Climate Assessment, 2012 was the hottest year on record for the continental United States, and experts predict that temperatures are only going to rise. Couple this with an energy grid that is already under severe strain, and there can be no denying we’ve got a serious problem on our hands.
