“Plan for U.S. Global Change Research Program Reviewed
The draft 10-year strategic plan for the U.S. Global Change Research Program is “evolving in the right direction,” but several key issues could strengthen these planning efforts, says a new report from the National Research Council.”
Source: What’s New at the National Academies, Jan. 9, 2012
Date: Aug. 24, 2011
Climate Change and Extreme Hydrology
A “grand challenge” to understand the manifestation of change in floods and droughts faces climate and water science researchers, says a new report from the National Research Council based on proceedings from a workshop. A coherent picture of how these phenomena will shift due to changes in climate and land use has yet to emerge, but better understanding could be achieved through greater exchange of research findings among climate scientists, water scientists, and engineers.
March 1, 2011 — “Geologic records that are millions of years old could hold clues to how the Earth’s future climate would respond in an environment with high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a new report from the National Research Council. Through a “deep-time” climate research program, these ancient rocks and sediments could enable scientists to better understand how climate behaved during past warm periods and major climate transitions.”
National Academies News 3/7/11
“Near-Term Emissions Choices Could Lock In Climate Changes For Centuries to Millennia
July 16, 2010 — Choices made now about carbon dioxide emissions reductions will affect climate change impacts experienced not just over the next few decades but also in coming centuries and millennia, says a new report from the National Research Council. Because CO2 in the atmosphere is long lived, it can effectively lock the Earth and future generations into a range of impacts, some of which could become very severe.”
Source: What’sNew@nationalacademies.org
“April 22, 2010 — Unless man-made carbon dioxide emissions are substantially curbed, or atmospheric carbon dioxide is controlled by some other means, the oceans will continue to become more acidic, says the summary of a congressionally requested study by the National Research Council. The long-term consequences are unknown, but a federal program under development is a positive move toward understanding and responding to the problem.”
Source: National Academies.org Weekly Highlights, April 23, 2010
"October 19, 2009 — A new report from the National Research Council examines "hidden" costs of energy production and use — such as the the health impacts of air pollution — that are not reflected in market prices of coal or oil. The quantifiable damages alone were an estimated $120 billion in the U.S. in 2005, a number that reflects primarily health damages caused by air pollution from electricity generation and motor vehicle transportation."
Source: National Academies Newsletter; WhatsNew@nationalacademies.org