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WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE? (SOLUTIONS (What are the effects of climate…

- - - - Climate Data Initiative
        Data related to climate change that can help inform and prepare America’s communities, businesses and citizens.
        
        U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit
        Provides scientific tools, information and expertise to help people manage their climate-related risks and opportunities, and improve their resilience to extreme events.
        
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
        From supercomputers and state-of-the-art models to observations and outlooks, this site provides data, tools and information to help people understand and prepare for climate variability and change.
        
        National Climate Assessment 2014
        Produced by a team of more than 300 experts and guided by a 60-member Federal Advisory Committee, this report summarizes current and future impacts of climate change on the United States.
        
        State of California's Climate Change Portal
        This site provides a large number of links to state reports on climate change mitigation and adaptation options.
        
        U.N. Framework on Climate Change
        United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Online newsletter concerning issues about the U.N.'s convention on long-term climate change.
      - U.S. Department of Energy
        Describes strategies currently being pursued or considered to reduce carbon emissions and address global climate change.
      - Environmental Protection Agency
        Tools for learning and understanding environmental issues and recommendations for greener living.
- - - - Water vapor.
        Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.
      - Carbon dioxide (CO2).
        A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. .
      - Methane.
        A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills,... and more.
      - Nitrous oxide.
        A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices.
      - Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
        Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a number of applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer.
    - - A stronger greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and partially melt glaciers and other ice, increasing sea level. Ocean water also will expand if it warms, contributing further to sea level rise
      - On average, Earth will become warmer. Some regions may welcome warmer temperatures, but others may not.
      - Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer
      - Meanwhile, some crops and other plants may respond favorably to increased atmospheric CO2, growing more vigorously and using water more efficiently. At the same time, higher temperatures and shifting climate patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the makeup of natural plant communities.
- - - - The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and 2005.
    - - Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa
    - - The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.5 Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year — from January through September, with the exception of June — were the warmest on record for those respective months.
    - - Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier.
    - - Global sea level rose about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century.
    - - The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.
    - - Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades
    - - The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events
    - - Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent. This increase is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the oceans. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by about 2 billion tons per year.
- - - - Because human-induced warming is superimposed on a naturally varying climate, the temperature rise has not been, and will not be, uniform or smooth across the country or over time.
    - - The length of the frost-free season has been increasing nationally since the 1980s, with the largest increases occurring in the western United States, affecting ecosystems and agriculture.
    - - Global climate is projected to continue to change over this century and beyond.
    - - Average U.S. precipitation has increased since 1900, but some areas have had increases greater than the national average, and some areas have had decreases.
    - - The intensity, frequency and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency of the strongesthurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s.
    - - Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since reliable record keeping began in 1880. It is projected to rise another 1 to 4 feet by 2100.
    - - Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves everywhere are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense everywhere.
    - - The Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century.
    - - Southeast
        
        Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment.
      - Midwest
        
        Extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture...
      - Northwest
        
        Changes in the timing of streamflow reduce water supplies for competing demands.
      - Southwest
        
        Increased heat, drought and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires.
      - Northeast
        
        Heat waves, heavy downpours and sea level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast.