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TechnoratiAmerica Unprepared for Climate Change, Say Policy Advisers
National Research Council claims US agencies and political leaders not getting the right information or guidance
America is woefully unprepared for climate change, and the government agencies charged with delivering the latest science to decision makers are not up to the task, a new report said today.
![[The Department of Water and Power San Fernando Valley Generating Station in Sun Valley, California. America is woefully unprepared for climate change, and the government agencies charged with delivering the latest science to decision makers are not up to the task, a new report said today. (AFP/Getty Images/File/David Mcnew)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/globalwarming_us_0.jpg "globalwarming_us.jpg")
The National Research Council, a policy advice centre that is part of the US National Academy of Sciences, said that government agencies and political leaders, concerned more than ever about climate change, were not getting the information or the guidance they needed.
"Many decision makers are experiencing or anticipating a new climate regime and are asking questions about climate change and potential responses to it that federal agencies are unprepared to answer," the council said in its report, Restructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change.
"Robust and effective responses to climate change demand a vastly improved body of scientific knowledge."
The report called for an expansion of federal government research into global warming, as well as a "transformational change" in how scientific research is conducted and incorporated into public policy.
It said government scientists, such as those at the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, needed to pay greater attention to the human dimension of climate change - its effects on food supply, public health and the environment.
Government researchers also needed to forge strong connections across different scientific disciplines and linking the worlds of natural and social science, said the non-profit institution which aims to improve government decision making and public policy.
The committee that produced the report called for the creation of a national climate service, and for further research to determine which parts of the country would be most vulnerable to global warming.
It drew on New York City as an extreme example of the decisions facing government leaders. Greening New York "will take literally thousands of individual decisions in order to upgrade existing municipal buildings, including firehouses, police precincts, sanitation garages, offices and courthouses," the report said.
But although government is increasingly focused on dealing with climate change, it appears that the US public is not.
A record number of Americans - some 41% - now believe the danger of climate change has been exaggerated in the mainstream media, a new Gallup poll found. In contrast, only 28% thought the media had downplayed the dangers of global warming.
The rise of climate change doubters was among Republican and non-affiliated voters - but not Democrats - and was confined to those above the age of 30.
16 Comments so far
Show AllUsed to be that in my part of the country, Winter meant -30F temperatures and snow drifts higher than a 2-story house. Now we don't even have snow in February. You can argue all you want about what's causing it - but global warming is real, as are droughts and severe weather anomalies. This site has plenty of reports regarding the loss of glacial ice - all over the world. Only an illiterate dolt would defy reality - oh wait, that's what theis country did for the last 30 years.... more of the same, I guess.
First of all, New Orleans prepares for a 100 year storm. Amsterdam prepares for a 10,000 year storm. We need better Army Corps of Engineers standards, or maybe less corruption.
Next, past storms are not going to be like future storms. New York is in no way prepared for a 100 year storm like the one that hit Houston last summer, much less the Katrina that hit Mississippi.
Next, New York is in no way prepared for salt water subway system flooding. The city's electrical system will stop working. And then it will stay stopped, maybe for years. Can Wall Street run on D cell batteries?
Other big targets are Houston really getting whacked with the 25 foot surge that was forecasted, not the wimpy 13 foot surge that took 100 lives or so, New Orleans really getting whacked and overwhelmed unlike Katrina which actually kind of missed the city, the entire Chesapeake Bay taking a big storm surge including D.C, Philly up to Trenton, and of course downtown Miami and most of Florida.
Heckuva job. Note to the Obama Administration: you can do better.
Well, we do lead the "developed world" in our ignorance of and understanding of science so why should anyone find it surprising we are leaders in the denial of climate change?
After all (paraphrasing the original quote) you cannot reason someone out of a position who has not reasoned herself/himself into it. This is as true for those who deny climate change as well for evolution.
America Unprepared for Climate Change, Say Policy Advisers...
------------------------
Umbrella...Check
Galoshes...Check
Rowboat...Check
I'm ready. Are you?
...A record number of Americans - some 41% - now believe the danger of climate change has been exaggerated in the mainstream media,
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Whoever controls the media controls the country. Period.
Bristol Palin has separated from her Levi.
Global warming deniers are so militant on these sites because they are getting paid for it by polluters. Otherwise, why bother denying it?
Yeah, alternative energy will be as devastating for the economy as the steam engine was!
Oh, wait . . .
Exactly tnmoderate- you're afraid it's going to cost money to switch over to clean. What you don't realize is that EXXON is afraid it's going to cost THEM money to switch over to a market they don't already dominate. So Exxon propagandizes, hires pseudo scientists, get's their anti-warming talking points don't pat on every station across the country.... and brainwashes the common citizen deniers to deny that they're denying anything. Do enviromentalists stand to make a ton of money? No. Does Exxon stand to lose a ton of petrol dollars and their mega mega monopoly? Yes.
in a state of panic and hysteria...
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The panic is yours entirely.
The rest of us refer to it as science.
If I could get you the same pay to promote windmills and solar panels would you agree?
When someone wants to support numbers that are wrong, they quote Gallop polls. Everyone knows the Climate is changing. It always has.
Global warming.....no scientidfic proof and it turns out that the Earth is actually cooling a bit.
Man is causing Climate change? No scientific proof. Little anecdotal proof.
This is a believers argument. Just as the coming "Ice Age" was when I was growing up.
Where are you getting your disinformation?
I would suggest that you check the current status of arctic ice at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. They update their graphs on a daily basis.
http://www.nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/index.html
You may also want to look at a scientific site like the Union of Concerned Scientists:
http://www.ucsusa.org/
They have quite a bit of real information.
I am not interested in starting another futile discussion, but I am just curious - what kind of "proof" are you talking about, Thomas? What would your "proof" be? Houston under water?
New Orleans should have been proof enough...
Walk in peace.
Wow, I'm used to seeing AGW deniers on the internet, but I didn't think any of you morons frequented Common Dreams. That's disappointing.
No "scientidfic" (sic) proof? You have to be kidding. Tell me, do you ever follow scientific journals and reports, or do you get all your news and information from youtube videos produced by conservative, energy industry-backed think-tanks?
The Earth is not "cooling a bit." Just because 2008 was a little cooler doesn't mean anything. The last 10 years have seen some of the warmest temperatures in history, and they are predicting 2009 to be extremely warm.
This bull about a "coming 'Ice Age'" when you were "growing up" is nonsense. There is a myth floating around the internet claiming that there was some sort of scientific consensus and mass hysteria in the 70's about global cooling, this is absolutely false (though the media did cover it). There were some reports about the effects of global cooling from particulate matter, etc. (which have been validated and are still having an effect on slowing the effects of global warming) but the vast majority of scientific research and reports were still focused on global warming. That's right, I said still. That's because scientists have been concerned with, and have been studying, the effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gases for over half a century now (actually for more than a century if you want to go back to Svante Arrhenius). This is not a new thing, this is not something that needs further "debate." This issue has been studied, researched and debated for decades - we are now WELL past the time to act, and moronic, ignorant Americans like you who do nothing but watch Fox News all day are the only thing holding back action.
Hell, you probably work for an energy company.
"Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow"