Impacts of Climate Change in the United States

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Impacts of Climate Change in the United States
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Presentation Overview of Impacts

• Regional environmental impacts
• Physical impacts on the United States
• Impacts on humans
• Health
• Food

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Regional Environmental Impacts
Image from Climate Change 2001,
http//grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg2/fig15-9.htm
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Physical ImpactsClimate Extremes El Niño

• Climate extremes
• El Niño
• models predict Pacific more El Niño-like
• related changes in precipitation patterns
• Worse conditions than previous El Niño's
• US more vulnerable to flash floods and soil
  erosion.
• Leads to next topic of floods and droughts

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Physical ImpactsFloods Droughts

• Droughts
• predictions due to summer drying likely
• affect continental interiors of mid-latitude
  areas Midwest of the United States
• likely according to Climate Change 2001
• 66-90 chance
• Floods
• Observed cold waves major precipitation in
  Northern Hemisphereincludes the US
• predict events are very likely to continue
  worsen
• flash floods.
• impact river deltas like the Mississippi
• very likely 90 -99 chance

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Physical ImpactsSea Level Elevation Coastal
Flooding

• Rising sea level is one of the most widely
  accepted potential impacts of climate change.
• Although the level has been steadily rising for
  centuries, studies conclude that the rate is
  rapidly increasing in many regions of the US.
• Since 1900, the level has risen 1 to 2 mm/yr.
• Many Highly populated urban areas are at risk,
  including parts of Southern and Northern
  California, Florida and the US Gulf, and the
  Atlantic coast. (In Florida alone, insured
  property value exceeds 1 trillion).

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Apparent Rise
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More than 65 of people in North America live in
coastal communities
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Physical ImpactsAgriculture and Forestry

• By 2032, close to 60 of the land and its
  habitats and wildlife may be affected by the
  impacts of infrastructure, up from just under 40
  now.
• The models for climate change indicate that
  agricultural productions in North America WILL be
  affected by a warming.
• Although it may benefit some regions, warming
  will have strong regional affects on crop
  maturity and production in areas with high summer
  temperatures and drought.

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HOWEVER

• There IS a medium confidence that negative
  climate change affects on agriculture, have been
  overestimated by studies that do not take all
  factors into account.
• The ability of farmers to adapt their input and
  output choices will depend on market signals,
  which may be partially influenced by climate
  change.

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Impact on Forests

• North America contains about 17 of the world's
  forests (Brooks, 1993), and these forests contain
  about 14-17 of the world's terrestrial
  biospheric carbon (Heath et al., 1993).
• Between 1980 and 1995, the area of the world's
  forests decreased by about 180 Mha as a result of
  human activities (FAO, 1997a).
• Thats a 5 loss of total forest area in 15
  years.
• About 200 Mha were converted to agriculture
  (subsistence agriculture, cash crops, and
  ranching).

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Two different effects on Forests with regard to
climate change

• Alteration in function of existing forests
  (biodiversity, nutrient cycling, water quality,
  ecosystem carbon storage)
• Change in actual composition and ecosystem
  structure of forests (fire, insect outbreaks,
  storms, pathogens).

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Key climate change issues related to forests in
North America include

• Changes in the geographic range of different
  forest types
• Increases in the frequency of fire and insect
  outbreaks
• Changes in the carbon storage function of forests
  (i.e., from sinks to sources)
• Evaluation of the importance of multiple stresses
  (ozone, nitrogen deposition, land-use change)
  that work in concert with climate change
• Changes in human interactions with forests (e.g.,
  risk to settlements, recreational use)

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What Will We Drink?

• Irrigation is the leading cause of fresh water
  loss
• 76.2 billion gallons per day lost due to
  evaporation
• All other water usage consists of only nineteen
  percent of the fresh water loss
• Greater run-ff during winter seasons could lead
  to reduced stores of freshwater
• Necessary for increased management of
  ground/surface water supplies
• EPA increased water-shed and water use solutions
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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Fresh Salmon and Bison Burgers?!

• Habitat destruction the largest contributor to
  biodiversity loss
• Strong Endangered Species Act
• Working against oil drilling, fishing,
  deforestation, and expanding residential areas
• 264 million hectares protected
• Global Environment Outlook 3

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The Next Big Thing Since Bird Flu

• Spread of Diseases
• Greater prominence of vector-borne diseases
• Malaria and Dengue Fever in the United States
• Lyme disease spreads across the country and
  enters Canada
• Contaminated Water Supplies
• Increasing in floods as well as overwhelming
  aquifers and increased run-off leads to
  contaminated water stores to supply the country
• Increased Pesticide Use
• Agricultural susceptibility increases due to
  warmer/more unstable growing season
• Even more important to safeguard health of crops
• Leads to possible water table contamination due
  to run-off
• Respiratory Disease
• Warming leads to increased frequency of smog
  events, acidic deposition, and particulate air
  pollution
• Convective storms lead to increased bouts of
  Asthma
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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Sources Discussion

• Climate Change 2001
• a very reliable source, sponsored by the United
  Nations and has many concrete facts on global
  warming.
• US Department EPA (environmental protection
  agency)
• Must be weary of bias based on current
  administration
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Collaboration of World Meteorological
  Organization and the United Nations Environment
  Programme
• Entire purpose to measure risks of Climate Change