Energy
Trump Admin Report Sounds Alarm on Climate Change
WASHINGTON INFORMER — The federal government released a 1,500-page report Friday on climate change, which warned of how people have affected global warming and, more importantly, the devastating effect those changes will have on earth’s inhabitants.
By William J. Ford
The federal government released a 1,500-page report Friday on climate change, which warned of how people have affected global warming and, more importantly, the devastating effect those changes will have on earth’s inhabitants.
The massive document says glaciers continue to shrink, sea ice is retreating and marine species travel to new locations toward cooler waters.
“The impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the future,” according to the report. “But the severity of future impacts will depend largely on actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changes that will occur.”
The report, “National Climate Assessment Volume II,” emphasized that human intervention could’ve ensured a slight cooling effect on global climate over the past 50 years. The report also analyzed the impact of climate change in 10 regions of the United States, which could cause some sectors of the country to lose hundreds of billions of dollars per year by the end of the century.
For instance, the Northeast region between West Virginia and Maine outline that snow storms, heat waves and flooding affecting water, energy and transportation infrastructure.
The report mentions an effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which recently re-elected Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said will be one of his priorities during his second term.
The first volume on climate change released last year stated heavy rainfall would continue and the largest changes in that weather occurred in the Northeast. One way to saw urban areas include more green space, solar panels and cooling centers.
President Donald Trump is among the many skeptical of climate change. Last year, Trump signed an energy policy as one way to eliminate “the previous administration’s climate change agenda that … acted as a road block to energy independence.”
He once again posted a comment on Twitter Wednesday to criticize climate change.
“Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS. Whatever happened to Global Warming?” he tweeted.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) also took to Twitter on Friday, criticizing the timing of the administration’s release of the report.
“Climate change is real. Trying to bury this report on the Friday after Thanksgiving does not make it less urgent. #science,” he wrote.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.
