The draft of a new report issued last week by the U.S. government concludes the impacts of climate change are spreading faster than previously predicted.
Authored by 240 scientists, business leaders and other experts, the draft of the Third National Climate Assessment [PDF] that was released last week "delivers a bracing picture of environmental changes and natural disasters that mounting scientific evidence indicates is fostered by climate change: heavier rains in the Northeast, Midwest and Plains that have overwhelmed storm drains and led to flooding and erosion; sea level rise that has battered coastal communities; drought that has turned much of the West into a tinderbox," reports .
"Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present," the report says. "Americans are noticing changes all around them. Summers are longer and hotter, and periods of extreme heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer."
"The findings in the report are a three-alarm fire," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills). "Climate change is already causing widespread disruption across the nation. We are in deep trouble if we don't act forcefully this year."
Over at The Washington Post's Wonkblog, Brad Plumer shares one of the more striking graphics from the report, which shows projected temperature changes by 2100 under four different scenarios. Under the most extreme (but entirely plausable) scenario, "in which we continue to burn fossil fuels at our current rate with no effort to tackle emissions....average temperatures in the United States rise somewhere between 5°F and 10°F by century’s end (or 2.8°C to 5.5°C)," notes Plumer. "A few parts of the country get up to 15°F hotter. Needless to say, that’s significant."
FULL STORY: Climate assessment delivers a grim overview
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.