19 June 2009
This Week from Washington June 19
Podcast on climate change report, government blogs
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The first U.S. report in nearly a decade to assess the impacts of climate change in different regions of the United States confirms and extends research that describes rising sea and air temperatures and sea levels, melting ice, intensified hurricanes and many other changes that are happening now. Such changes will continue into the future, affecting water resources, agriculture, coastal areas and health.
The report, named Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, was released June 16 during a briefing at the White House. Officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said the report describes why remedial action is needed sooner rather than later to address climate change. These actions must include not only global emissions reductions to reduce the extent of climate change, but also local adaptation measures to reduce the damage from the changes that are no longer avoidable.
In the United States, rising water temperatures and an increase of carbonic acid in the oceans — as a result of the ocean soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — threaten coral reefs and the rich ecosystems they support. These and other climate-related impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems have major implications for fisheries and tourism.
The report also cites a growing number of insect infestations and wildfires. Both are projected to increase further in a warming climate. Heat waves will also become more frequent and intense, affecting human health and quality of life, as well as transportation, energy systems and crop and livestock production.
Increased heavy downpours will lead to more flooding and waterborne diseases, negative effects on agriculture, and disruptions to energy, water and transportation systems. Reduced summer runoff and increasing water demands will create greater competition for water supplies in some regions, especially in the western United States.
Climate change is a global phenomenon, but its impacts are local and regional, affecting farmers and fishers, local and public health officials, water resource managers, emergency responders, business owners and citizens.
The report’s findings are based largely on results of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which began as a presidential initiative in 1989. Thirteen federal agencies participate in the program's work. For this new report, research was integrated from around the world, including findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, whose main activity is to provide regular assessments of the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC is now outlining its Fifth Assessment Report, to be finalized in 2014.
The report classifies the actions that society can take in response to climate change in two categories — mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation refers to limiting climate change by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other gases, or by removing some of these heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere. Adaptation refers to how societies can better respond to environmental conditions, such as a farmer growing crops better suited to drier conditions, or a company moving business centers away from coastal areas.
Choices made about emission reductions now and over the next few decades will have far-reaching consequences for climate-change impacts, the report says. Because of gases that have already been released, some climate change will occur. But reducing emissions of carbon dioxide would reduce warming over this century and beyond. Reducing emissions of some greenhouse gases, such as methane, and some types of particles, such as soot, would begin to reduce the warming influence within weeks to decades.
U.S. government agencies are finding that blogging can put a “human face” on what can sometimes seem like an impersonal bureaucracy.
For example, when the Transportation Safety Administration, the agency responsible for airport security in the United States, launched its blog in January 2008, it recruited employees with on-the-ground experience working in various jobs around the United States to write the blog posts.
According to TSA officials, they didn’t want people to think they were talking to a nameless TSA bureaucrat. The blog, called Evolution of Security, continues today to help correct misinformation on the Internet about security requirements at U.S. airports.
The results were excellent. In the first three days, more than 2,000 comments were submitted. And interest remains high. Each blog post receives about 3,000 views.
The comments aren’t always flattering to TSA’s security operations. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, security screening has been made much more strict. The goal of TSA’s blog is to explain to readers what they need to understand about the screening process so they can get through security as quickly as possible. But occasionally comments from the public lead to changes in TSA’s practices. The blog helps to improve operations or identify a problem somewhere.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, oversees the nation’s environmental science, research, education and regulatory efforts. EPA’s blog, called Greenversations, helps the public understand the wide range of activities performed by the agency. EPA manages a group blog where people from all over the agency share their different experiences, from “green” gardening to renovating a home. The idea is to connect in a more human way to the readers rather than using a standard, bureaucratic news release or fact sheet, according to officials.
The blog’s most popular material is the “Question of the Week,” which invites discussions around questions such as why or why not do you bike to work? The questions are presented each Monday and generate between 50 to 100 comments each, and sometimes as many as 200 to 300.
EPA’s blogs also get their share of negative comments, but such comments get posted as well. Officials say it’s a bigger problem when agencies never post anything that’s negative. People can sense when you’re only looking to promote yourself and not looking for an honest engagement with the public, they say. The blogs gain credibility by showing a willingness to take some criticism and – ideally – respond to it.
This podcast is produced by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Links to other Internet sites or opinions expressed should not be considered an endorsement of other content and views.
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