The US is heating up more quickly than the rest of the world, making it vulnerable to the effects of climate change. According to a recent draft of a major national climate report, the things Americans value most are at risk. Americans' food and water supplies, cherished traditions and pastimes, and communities are all included.
The fifth national climate assessment is expected to be finished next year. The public can comment on the draft through January 27th,23. Every four years, national researchers are required to give a report to Congress and the president about the effects of global warming. The report was supposed to be finished this year, but was delayed by the Trump administration.
Most of the things Americans value are at risk.
Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters are one of the clearest signs of climate change. The US could expect a disaster costing $1 billion in damages every four months in the 1980's. The costly catastrophes occur every three weeks. The 15th billion-dollar disaster this year was Hurricane Ian. Over the past four decades, the average number of such disasters was less than eight.
Disaster can be a single blow or it can be a long time in the making. For at least the past 1200 years, the southwestern US has been the driest region in the world. That has forced drastic cuts to states' water resources to ban lawns in Las Vegas and could push farmers to switch from staple crops like corn to more resistant crops like Sorghum.
Disasters can pile up on each other at once or in a short period of time. Air quality warnings from smoke-filled air and warnings to check in on loved ones are part of the season for vacations and exploring the great outdoors. The draft report makes clear that every corner of the US is affected by climate change, but it also states that the worst of the crisis will hit communities that already face the greatest inequalities. The neighborhoods that were previously divided through racist redlining policies are usually hotter than other parts of the city.
In a warming world, the US can't afford a safe harbor. Over the past 50 years, it has warmed at a rate that is datememe datememe datememe datememe. The global average temperature is 1.2 degrees hotter than it was in 1850, while the US is 2.5 degrees hotter.
Much of the climate hole the US is in has been dug by the US. Since the industrial revolution, it has been the country that has emitted the most greenhouse gases. Since 1850, a quarter of the carbon dioxide pollution built up in the Earth's atmosphere has come from the US.
As delegates from the US and all over the world meet for the United Nations' annual climate summit, a draft National Climate Assessment is being prepared. The US is under pressure to ramp up commitments to slash their climate pollution at the summit. The new report reminds US negotiators that the crisis has reached their doorstep as well.
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