Climate Impacts

Humans and our environment are already feeling the impacts of climate change as it makes temperatures hotter, sea levels higher, storms more intense, and oceans more acidic.

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Blog Post
Congress Finally Reforms Flood Insurance
Publication
Fixing A Broken National Flood Insurance Program: Risks And Potential Reforms

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) insures 5.6 million American homeowners and some $1 trillion in assets. For many years, however, the premiums collected have not been sufficient to cover losses, resulting in a current debt to the U.S. Treasury …

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Publication
Climate Change & International Security: The Arctic as a Bellwether

Executive Summary In its most recent assessment of global climate change, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences concluded, “A strong body of scientific evidence shows that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for a …

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Blog Post
IPCC Releases Full Report on Extreme Weather Risk Management
Blog Post
Summer in March?
Publication
Workshop Proceedings: Assessing the Benefits of Avoided Climate Change: Cost-Benefit Analysis and Beyond

Based on decades of research by the scientific community, there is now wide recognition that emissions of greenhouse gases are changing our climate and that the future impacts from such changes will largely be harmful. In response, policymakers across the …

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Publication
Regional Impacts of Climate Change: Four Case Studies in the United States

In 2007, the science of climate change achieved an unfortunate milestone: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reached a consensus position that human-induced global warming is already causing physical and biological impacts worldwide. The most recent scientific work demonstrates that …

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Publication
Observed Impacts of Climate Change in the United States

For over a century, scientists have documented the important role that that the climate plays in the geographic distribution of the world’s ecosystems and the wildlife they support.  Yet, it is now quite evident that the climate these species depend …

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Publication
A Synthesis of Potential Climate Change Impacts on the U.S.

Greenhouse gas emissions—primarily from human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels— are causing changes in the global climate. Global temperatures increased approximately 1°F over the 20th century, and additional warming of 2.5-10.5°F is projected over the next century. …

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Publication
Coral Reefs & Global Climate Change: Potential Contributions of Climate Change to Stresses on Coral Reef Ecosystems

Coral reefs represent some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, providing critical habitat to approximately 25 percent of marine species. In addition, these ecosystems provide economic benefits through tourism and fisheries. One recent estimate valued the annual net …

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