Climate change has claimed lives and upended livelihoods in every region of the United States, but its severe toll has prompted parts of the country to respond faster and more creatively than ever, according to a major government report released Tuesday.
The National Climate Assessment, compiled by numerous federal agencies and published every few years at the direction of Congress, paints a picture of a nation whose economy, environment and public health face deepening threats as the world grows hotter. These days, weather-driven disasters happen far more frequently and cost the country about $150 billion each year, on average, according to the report.
But as the dangers become ever more evident, so does proof that many governments and communities are responding, the report says, even as the United States and other developed nations remain woefully far from hitting their long-term climate goals.
Renewable energy has become widespread and cheap in recent years, dramatically reducing the electricity grid’s emissions. Farming practices are storing more planet-warming carbon in the soil. Waterside communities are preparing for higher floods by raising some homes, demolishing others and enhancing natural barriers. Through infrastructure legislation and the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress has approved an unprecedented amount of spending on efforts to make the nation more weather-ready and to speed its transition from fossil fuels.
“All of these actions taken together give us hope because they tell us that we can do big things at the scale that’s required,” said Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
And yet, she said, “Much more work is needed.”
Risks from climate change, the report says, are becoming only more visible, whether it’s rapidly intensifying hurricanes in the Southeast, drought in the Midwest, ferocious fires and diminishing water supplies in the West or torrential rainstorms in the Northeast.
3 comments
**From Brady Dennis and Scott Dance:**
Climate change has claimed lives and upended livelihoods in every region of the United States, but its severe toll has prompted parts of the country to respond faster and more creatively than ever, according to a major government report released Tuesday.
The National Climate Assessment, compiled by numerous federal agencies and published every few years at the direction of Congress, paints a picture of a nation whose economy, environment and public health face deepening threats as the world grows hotter. These days, weather-driven disasters happen far more frequently and cost the country about $150 billion each year, on average, according to the report.
But as the dangers become ever more evident, so does proof that many governments and communities are responding, the report says, even as the United States and other developed nations remain woefully far from hitting their long-term climate goals.
Renewable energy has become widespread and cheap in recent years, dramatically reducing the electricity grid’s emissions. Farming practices are storing more planet-warming carbon in the soil. Waterside communities are preparing for higher floods by raising some homes, demolishing others and enhancing natural barriers. Through infrastructure legislation and the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress has approved an unprecedented amount of spending on efforts to make the nation more weather-ready and to speed its transition from fossil fuels.
“All of these actions taken together give us hope because they tell us that we can do big things at the scale that’s required,” said Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
And yet, she said, “Much more work is needed.”
Risks from climate change, the report says, are becoming only more visible, whether it’s rapidly intensifying hurricanes in the Southeast, drought in the Midwest, ferocious fires and diminishing water supplies in the West or torrential rainstorms in the Northeast.
**Read more here, and skip the paywall with email registration:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/14/national-climate-assessment-impacts-warming/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/14/national-climate-assessment-impacts-warming/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
This was a pretty good speech showing it’s costing trillions in just real estate alone https://youtu.be/fewvUMn1lDI?si=mP7KfKveItKuLLJN
Well between the PragerU mouth breathers and the free market wanks who want to monetize it, I’m sure it will work out!