As Congress inches closer to acting on climate-change legislation, a trio of new reports by a broad array of scientists and technical experts says the evidence that we're altering our climate is strong enough to warrant prompt action.
The National Research Council, the working arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, issued the reports today (Wednesday) making the case for the United States to act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to develop a national strategy for adapting to climate-change impacts that will be unavoidable.
While acknowledging that the scientific case is never closed and there's always more to learn, the council's first report says there are multiple lines of evidence supporting the prevailing scientific understanding of climate change.
"Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for -- and in many cases is already affecting -- a broad range of human and natural systems," concludes one report, "Advancing the Science of Climate Change."
A second report recommends strong U.S. action to reduce climate-warming emissions. It would encourage other countries to follow suit, and would help the U.S. position itself as a leader in developing technologies needed to deal with the issue. The report's authors endorse some form of carbon pricing as the most effective way to reduce emissions, but say more is needed to improve energy efficiency and to deveop renewable energy.
Because climate already is altering, a third report says, a national strategy is needed to help communities adapt to impacts such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events and heat waves.
The reports come shortly after the long-delayed introduction of a new climate-energy bill in the Senate, following House action last year. Others in the Senate, meanwhile, are pushing for a vote to block the Environmental Protection Agency from doing anything to regulate greenhouse gases.
Among the scientist-authors of the reports is Antonio J. Busalacchi Jr., professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park. The research council's climate-change studies are being coordinated by a steering committee that includes another Marylander, Donald F. Boesch, president of UM's Center for Environmental Science.
It's doubtful they'll sway anyone who's already decided climate change is a hoax, but the reports are part of a series requested by Congress.
They also come shortly after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record in April as well as for perioid from January to April. For more on that, see colleague Frank Roylance's weather blog.
(NASA photo, 2002)