Head of EPA ask if climate change is Good Thing
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 11:29 pm
https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/file ... ing-fs.pdf
BASIS IN SCIENCE The EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding was based on extensive review of decades of scientific research and peer-reviewed assessment reports synthesizing thousands of individual climate science studies.15 The Agency concluded based on the scientific evidence that “elevated concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are the root cause of recently observed climate change,” and these changes are “very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.”16 The EPA considered the current and future effects of climate change, and found that climate-changing pollution endangers public health for current and future generations.17 The public health effects supporting this determination include: n
Direct temperature effects: Extremely hot days and heat waves are becoming more frequent, and are projected to intensify. Heat causes the most weather-related deaths in the United States, and projected warming is expected to increase heat-related mortality. n
Air quality effects: There is consistent evidence that climate change will increase ground-level ozone pollution (smog), which causes respiratory illnesses and aggravates asthma. n
Extreme weather events: Heavy precipitation events and severe storms are expected to become more frequent and intense. The resulting flooding and storm surge will put more people at risk of death or injury and increase risks of infectious diseases. n
Disease and allergen effects: Warmer temperatures are likely to increase the spread of food- and waterborne illnesses and insect-borne diseases. Climate change may also affect the prevalence and severity of allergy symptoms by increasing pollen and altering the distribution of aeroallergens and the plants that produce them.
The EPA also concluded that greenhouse gas pollution endangers the public welfare.18 The environmental and welfare effects supporting this determination include: n
Food production, agriculture, and forestry: Although increased carbon dioxide concentrations may benefit certain crops, the body of evidence suggests that climate change impacts—including increased temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events—will cause net adverse effects on U.S. agriculture. Climate change has already endangered U.S. forestry by increasing the size and frequency of wildfires, insect outbreaks, and tree mortality, and will continue to contribute to these effects. n
Water resources: Climate change is reducing snowpack and precipitation, which threatens the adequacy of water supplies across large areas of the United States. Rising water temperatures and more frequent flood events exacerbate water pollution, increasing risks to public health and ecosystems. n
Sea level rise: The sea level along much of the U.S. coast is rising, and the rate of change is expected to increase. Sea level rise increases the risk of storm surge and flooding and causes erosion and loss of wetlands, threatening coastal communities.
Page 2 EPA’S ENDANGERMENT FINDING: THE LEGAL AND SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR CLIMATE ACTION NRDC
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Energy and infrastructure: Climate change is expected to affect energy demand for heating and cooling, and adversely impact energy production, which relies on water for cooling capacity and hydropower generation. U.S. infrastructure—including energy transmission, water infrastructure, roads, bridges, airports, and homes—is vulnerable to extreme weather events, permafrost melt, sea level rise, and coastal erosion associated with climate change. n
Ecosystems and wildlife: Climate change is already affecting natural environments by causing changes in plant life cycles and shifting the habitat ranges and migration patterns of animals. These changes will fundamentally alter U.S. ecosystems and have negative consequences for biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services on which current and future generations depend. Since 2009, additional scientific evidence has continued to improve our understanding of climate systems, and has reinforced the EPA’s conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions pose a grave danger to current and future generations.19