There was not much good news, not surprisingly.
There's still time to avoid the worst scenarios around climate change, but only if we move quickly. ("We" means the federal government, in this case -- and since Congress still refuses to act...thankfully, the executive branch is acting. More on this below.)
Climate change is hitting home, already.
The report chapter that focuses on states in the Northeast begins this way: "Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning."This is hitting home viscerally to so many of us. Remember the gentle spring rains that were a standard feature of just a few decades ago? Now downpours, storms, and floods are the new standard.
Worsening public health
Those of us who routinely read global warming reports know about the "usual suspects" on the list of serious health threats that an overheated atmosphere brings: More cases of respiratory diseases such as asthma due to polluted air (warmer temps make smog worse), and diseases caused by insect vectors (Lyme disease, dengue fever, West Nile virus, among others). The NCA chapter on public health discusses these.What I find particularly interesting are two public health threats included in the NCA that I can't recall seeing associated with climate change until now:
- Mental health and stress-related disorders. If one loses their home -- or even a loved one, heaven forbid -- in a flood, of course that person could be more vulnerable to these sorts of mental health problems.
- Respiratory diseases will likely increase due to the growth of indoor mold, mildew, and fungi. All those soggy basements from all these extra floods we just talked about will lead to more sick people.
What is the federal government doing?
Since Congress has refused for more than a decade to pass legislation to put a price on carbon dioxide, it falls on the executive branch to act (as required by the Clean Air Act). Fortunately, President Obama has instructed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put forth standards to limit carbon dioxide from power plants (the biggest domestic source of industrial carbon pollution).Stay tuned for the EPA's announcement on June 2 for how they propose to limit CO2 from existing power plants (including all those dirty old coal plants across Pennsylvania).
We promise that PennFuture will be all over this issue for the foreseeable future.
Joy Bergey is federal policy director for PennFuture and based in Philadelphia.
