On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which Congress requires to be issued every four years. The product of 300 scientific experts working under the guidance of a 60-member federal advisory committee, the report was open to review by the public, 13 federal agencies and a panel at the National Academy of Sciences. This report detailed grim scenarios for each region of the country, including threats to water supply, spread of wildfire range, reduced agriculture yields, worsening public health, and a drastic hit to the U.S. economy. The first climate report fully “belonging” to the Trump Administration, it warned of “hundreds of billions of dollars” in annual losses to some sectors of the economy and that the “era of climate consequences” is already underway in the U.S. “Climate change is transforming where and how we live and presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us,” the report says.
Reactions from lawmakers
On Fox News Sunday, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said it’s a matter of how to respond. “I think the real question, though, becomes what do you do about it? Because you can’t legislate or regulate your way into the past, we have to innovate our way into the future.”
. @SenSasse responds to National Climate Assessment: I think it’s clear that the climate is changing. I think reasonable people can differ about how much and how rapidly. But I think it’s clear that it’s changing and it’s clear that humans are a contributing factor. @BenSasse pic.twitter.com/NTG4mTDvza
FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 25, 2018
Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, while pointing out direct impacts on the economy of her state, said the release of this report “should cause all of us, including the Administration, to take a harder look at the economic consequences of inaction and use what is known about climate risks to inform federal policy. We cannot ignore the impact of climate change on our public health, our environment and our economy.”
And Bob Inglis takes on “solution aversion” in this radio interview.
We will update as more EcoRighters respond to this Black Friday “deal.”