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Experts from government agencies, academia and environmental organizations say these stressed ecosystems are also stressing wild plant and animal species, threatening the nations biodiversity. When Super Storm Sandy ravaged the U.S. East Coast and inundated New York City in late October, many wondered if such extreme weather events might be linked to climate change, the gradual warming of the planet caused, in part, by decades of industrial emissions. For New York governor Andrew Cuomo, there was no doubt. Climate change is a reality, he said after Sandy struck.
Wreaking havoc
The same global reality that swamped New York City is also wreaking havoc on the nations wild places, according to a warning contained in the new report, "Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services." Bruce Stein, a scientist with the National Wildlife Federation and a co-author of the report, says one of its key findings is that climate change is causing many plant and animal species to shift their geographic range and distribution faster than anticipated. What that means is that, as these species shift out of their historic ranges, were starting to see biological events happening earlier," Stein says. "Were starting to see mismatches between things like flowers and their pollinators, and species that actually depend on one another.
The impact of a warmer world isnt just felt in more intense heat waves, droughts and storms every summer, but also in winters that are less cold. And those cold temperatures are a critical regulator of species outbreaks and also of species distributions," says ecologist Peter Groffman with the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and also a co-author of the report. "And so what weve seen is that these pest outbreaks are much worse than they would be because weve lost these very cold temperatures.
Assault on trees
Bug infestations are killing millions of trees in U.S. forests. If that assault continues, the report warns, tree mortality rates in western U.S. forests could double every 17 to 29 years. The loss of trees would lead to earlier melting of mountain snowpack and reduce the amount of water available for spring planting season. These changes in the winter affect ecosystems, biodiversity, during the summer period," Groffman says. "There are big changes in the timing of spring and fall, which affects the success for a variety of plant and animal species, and it affects the ability of ecosystems to hold on to improved water quality and air quality.
That also means less water for people and communities to drink, says another report co-author, Mary Ruckelshaus, managing director of the Natural Capital Project. By most projections, climate change is going to triple the fraction of countries that are at high, or at very high, risk of running out of water," Ruckelshaus says. "Peoples source of water is going to be increasingly imperiled due to climate change.
High stakes
Another mild winter here in NY.
Probably because of Global Warming
We have a superstorm earlier
Probably because of Global Warming
Last year we had one big snow storm
Probably because of Global Warming
And then it was a mild winder last year
Probably because of Global Warming
the year before we had a dozen snow storms
Probably because of Global Warming
It was 21° here this morning. I blame global warming.
Minus 3 here this afternoon...global warming at its most insidious...
Minus 3 here this afternoon...global warming at its most insidious...
You just gave me pneumonia just thinking about minus 3. LOL!
Over the past decade scientists thought they had figured out how to protect humanity from the worst dangers of climate change.
Scientists documented major changes to natural systems around the planet in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). New science published after the IPCC report has shown how global warming is happening faster than anticipated. Sea-level rise may be accelerating, Arctic sea ice is rapidly melting, and forests are being transformed.
(I thought there was a separate forum for threads about the environment. Maybe a mod/admin will move it to the correct forum. Or, maybe not.)
Is Global Warming Happening Faster Than Expected?: Scientific American
Global Warming is Accelerating - National Wildlife FederationOver the past decade scientists thought they had figured out how to protect humanity from the worst dangers of climate change.
Oh, and yes, of course I know this is a dumb joke for dumb people.Scientists documented major changes to natural systems around the planet in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). New science published after the IPCC report has shown how global warming is happening faster than anticipated. Sea-level rise may be accelerating, Arctic sea ice is rapidly melting, and forests are being transformed.