Climate change assessment paints stark picture of potential damage
Barren ground at last week’s snow survey near Echo Summit. Photo/LTN
By Neela Banerjee and Kathleen Hennessey, Los Angeles Times
The warming of Earth, with human consumption of fossil fuels as the main cause, will have severe consequences for every region of the United States, according to the Third National Climate Assessment released Tuesday morning by the Obama administration.
Mandated by Congress and published every four years, the report is a science-based resource that is meant to inform public policy and private sector decisions.
The report concludes that extreme weather events influenced by climate change have grown more frequent and intense, including heat waves, drought and severe precipitation. “These and other aspects of climate change are disrupting people’s lives and damaging some sectors of our economy,” the report said.
Most Americans believe that climate change is happening or will happen in their lifetimes, according to a March Gallup poll. But only one in three sees it as “serious threat” to their way of life, the poll reported.