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{{Short description|US Climate Change organization}}
The '''Climate Change Science Program''' ('''CCSP''') was the program responsible for coordinating and integrating research on [[global warming]] by U.S. government agencies from February 2002 to June 2009.<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/infosheets/factsheet1/default.htm Climate Change Science Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207092833/http://www.climatescience.gov/infosheets/factsheet1/default.htm |date=2007-02-07 }} 2006. Overview of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, Fact Sheet 1. Washington, DC (January)</ref> Toward the end of that period, CCSP issued 21 separate climate assessment reports that addressed [[Climate Change Science Program#Observations and causes of climate change|climate observations]], changes in the atmosphere, expected [[climate change]], [[Climate Change Science Program#Impacts and adaptation|impacts and adaptation]], and risk management issues. Shortly after President Obama took office, the program's name was changed to U.S. [[Global Change Research Program]] (USGCRP) which was also the program's name before 2002. Nevertheless, the [[Obama Administration]] generally embraced the CCSP products as sound science providing a basis for climate policy.<ref>See [[Climate Change Science Program#Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States|Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States]].</ref> Because those reports were mostly issued after the [[IPCC Fourth Assessment Report|Fourth Assessment Report]] of the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC), and in some cases focused specifically on the United States, they were generally viewed within the United States as having an importance and scientific credibility comparable to the IPCC assessments for the first few years of the Obama Administration.<ref>For example, see [https://web.archive.org/web/20091208190419/http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment/downloads/Endangerment%20TSD.pdf Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act: Technical Support Document] 2009. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington, DC (December)</ref>
==The products==
The primary outputs from the CCSP were its strategic plan and 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAP), five of which were released on January 16, 2009, the last business day of the Bush Administration.<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap-summary.php Climate Change Science Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819232331/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap-summary.php |date=2007-08-19 }} 2009. Information on Synthesis and Assessment Products</ref> The CCSP Strategic Plan of 2003<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/stratplan2003/default.htm U.S. Climate Change Science Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070215085829/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/stratplan2003/default.htm |date=2007-02-15 }}, 2003. Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. Washington, DC. See also [http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/pressreleases/pressrelease24jul2003.htm Press release of 24 July 2003] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203080618/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/pressreleases/pressrelease24jul2003.htm |date=3 February 2007 }}</ref> defined five goals:
# Extend knowledge of the
# Improve understanding of the forces bringing about changes in the
# Reduce uncertainty in projections of how the
# Understand the sensitivity and adaptability of different natural and managed systems to climate and associated global changes (see [[Climate Change Science Program#Impacts and adaptation|Impacts and adaptation]])
# Explore the uses and identify the limits of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability and change (see [[Climate Change Science Program#Using information to manage risks|Using information to manage risks]])
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====Temperature trends in the lower atmosphere (SAP 1.1)====
NOAA released the first of 21 CCSP Synthesis and Assessment reports in May 2006, entitled ''Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere: Steps for Understanding and Reconciling Differences''.<ref name="CSGOV1">[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap1-1/finalreport/default.htm
====The Arctic and other high latitude areas (SAP 1.2)====
On January 16, 2009 (the last business day of the Bush Administration), USGS released ''Past Climate Variability and Change in the Arctic and at High Latitudes''.<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap1-2/default.php CCSP, 2009.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706025403/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap1-2/default.php |date=2009-07-06 }} Past Climate Variability and Change in the Arctic and at High Latitudes. Alley R.B., [[Julie Brigham-Grette|Brigham-Grette J.]], Miller G.H., Polyak L., and White J.W.C. U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC. 270 pp.</ref> According to the USGS press release,<ref>[http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2109&from=rss_home U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Communication] Arctic Heats Up More than Other Places, January 16, 2009</ref> the report shows that:
* The Arctic has recently been warming about as rapidly as it has ever warned throughout the entire record of past Arctic climate.
* The loss of sea ice during summers over the last few decades is highly unusual compared to the last few thousand years. Changes in Earth's orbit alone would have increased summer sea ice.
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====Attribution of the causes of observed climate change (SAP 1.3)====
NOAA released ''Re-Analyses of Historical Climate Data for Key Atmospheric Features: Implications for attribution of causes of observed change''<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap1-3/default.php CCSP, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704102959/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap1-3/default.php |date=2009-07-04 }} Reanalysis of Historical Climate Data for Key Atmospheric Features: Implications for Attribution of Causes of Observed Change. Randall Dole, Martin Hoerling, and Siegfried Schubert (editors). National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, 156 pp.</ref> in December 2008. According to the report, from 1951 to 2006 the yearly average temperature for North America increased by 1.6°
There is less evidence that precipitation is changing. The report found no significant trend in North American precipitation since 1951, although there have been substantial changes from year to year and even decade to decade. Moreover, it is unlikely that a fundamental change has occurred in either how often or where severe droughts have occurred over the continental United States during the past half-century. Nevertheless, drought impacts have likely become more severe in recent decades. It is likely that the impacts have been more severe because the recent droughts have lasted a few years, and because warmer temperatures have created stresses in plants, which make them more vulnerable.
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====Other synthesis and assessment products====
In addition to SAP 2.1, CCSP produced three other reports to further the goal of improving quantification of climate forcing:
* NOAA released "North American Carbon Budget and Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle"<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap2-2/default.php CCSP 2007.] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.
* NASA released "Atmospheric Aerosol Properties and Climate Impacts"<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap2-3/default.php CCSP 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507192221/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap2-3/default.php |date=2009-05-07 }} Atmospheric Aerosol Properties and Climate Impacts. Mian Chin, Ralph A. Kahn, and Stephen E. Schwartz (editors). National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC. 128 pp.</ref> (SAP 2.3) on January 16, 2009.
* NOAA released "Trends in Emissions of Ozone-Depleting Substances, Ozone Layer Recovery, and Implications for Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure"<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap2-4/default.php CCSP, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706024633/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap2-4/default.php |date=2009-07-06 }} Trends in Emissions of Ozone-Depleting Substances, Ozone Layer Recovery, and Implications for Ultraviolet
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A committee set up under the [[Federal Advisory Committee Act]] monitored the progress of SAP 4.1, and questioned several aspects of the final report. The original plan included maps and estimates of wetland loss from a then-ongoing EPA mapping study conducted by James G. Titus,<ref>
{{Cite journal| author=Cornelia Dean | title=Next Victim of Warming: The Beaches | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE6DC1E31F933A15755C0A9609C8B63 |
{{Cite journal| author=Josh Harkinson and Kate Sheppard | title=Coastal Collapse | url=http://www.slate.com/id/2252063 | access-date=June 1, 2010 | journal=Slate | date=April 27, 2010 }}</ref>
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area to understand what strategies will increase the resilience of each ecosystem.
EPA concluded that climate change can increase the impact of traditional stressors (such as pollution or [[habitat destruction]]) on ecosystems, and that many existing best management practices to reduce these stressors can also be applied to reduce the impacts of climate change. For example, current efforts to reverse habitat destruction by restoring vegetation along streams also increase ecosystem resilience to climate change impacts, such as greater amounts of pollutants and sediments from more intense rainfall. EPA also concluded that the nation's ability to adapt to climate change will depend on a variety of factors including recognizing the barriers to implementing new strategies, expanding collaboration among ecosystem managers, creatively re-examining program goals and authorities, and being flexible in setting priorities and managing for change.
====''Effects of Climate Change on Energy Production and Use'' (SAP 4.5)====
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===''Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States''===
To fulfill a statutory requirement for a [[National Assessment on Climate Change|national assessment]], the CCSP released ''Scientific Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change in the United States''<ref>[http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/scientific-assessment/ Scientific Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change in the United States, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513010513/http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/scientific-assessment/ |date=2009-05-13 }}</ref> in May 2008. Shortly thereafter, a team of authors synthesized key findings from the SAP's. In June 2009, CCSP changed its name to United States Global Change Research Program and released the unified synthesis report, entitled ''Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States'' .<ref>[http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/key-findings United States Global Change Research Program] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721043028/http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/key-findings |date=2011-07-21 }}. 2009. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. [[Washington, DC]] 188 pp</ref> The report had ten key findings which became the bedrock of the Obama Administration's view of the impacts of climate change.
# [[Climate Change Science Program#Temperature trends in the lower atmosphere (SAP 1.1)|''Global warming is unequivocal and primarily human-induced'']]. Global temperature has increased over the past 50 years. This observed increase is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases.
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# ''Crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged.'' Many crops show positive responses to elevated responses to carbon dioxide. However, increased heat, pests, water stress, diseases, and weather extremes will pose adaptation challenges for crop and livestock production.
# [[Climate Change Science Program#Coastal sensitivity to sea level rise (SAP 4.1)|''Coastal areas are at increasing risk from sea-level rise and storm surge'']]. Sea-level rise and storm surge place many U.S. coastal areas at increasing risk of erosion and flooding, especially along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Pacific Islands, and parts of Alaska. Energy and transportation infrastructure and other property in coastal areas are very likely to be adversely affected.
# [[Climate Change Science Program#Effects on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems (SAP 4.6)|''Risks to human health will increase.'']] [[Health impacts of climate change]] are related to heat stress, waterborne diseases, poor air quality, extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents. Robust public health infrastructure can reduce the potential for negative impacts.
# ''Climate change will interact with many social and environmental stresses''. Climate change will combine with pollution, population growth, overuse of resources, urbanization, and other social, economic, and environmental stresses to create larger impacts than from any of these factors alone.
# ''Thresholds will be crossed, leading to large changes in climate and ecosystems.'' There are a variety of thresholds in the climate system and ecosystems. These thresholds determine, for example, the presence of sea ice and permafrost, and the survival of species, from fish to insect pests, with implications for society. With further climate change, the crossing of additional thresholds is expected.
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==The organization==
The CCSP was known as US Global Change Research Program until 2002, as authorized by the [[Global Change Research Act of 1990]]. The Bush Administration changed its name to Climate Change Science Program as part of its U.S. Climate Change Research Initiative. The Administration envisioned "a nation and the global community empowered with the science-based knowledge to manage the risks and opportunities of change in the climate and related environmental systems
===Participants===
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===Reviews and criticism===
The Climate Change Science Program operated during an administration that believed that continued scientific investigation was necessary before policies should be implemented.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} The CCSP faced the challenge of navigating the narrow path between administration officials who were sceptical of the general scientific consensus about greenhouse gases,<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.alternet.org/story/11054/ | work=AlterNet| title= George W. Bush: The Un-science Guy | first= David |last=Corn |date= 2001-06-19|
| url =
| title = Bush Disses Global Warming Report
|
| date= 2002-06-04
|
}}</ref> and ''scientific critics'' who were ''skeptical about almost everything''{{Clarify|reason= is this a quote?|date=September 2010}} that the administration did related to climate change.<ref>E.g. [[James E. Hansen]] and [[Joseph Romm]].</ref> As a result, the CCSP was ''under more scrutiny than most'' federal scientific coordination programs.
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A 2007 NRC review<ref>[http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11934 Evaluating Progress of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program: Methods and Preliminary Results, 2007]</ref> was more critical. "Discovery science and understanding of the climate system are proceeding well, but use of that knowledge to support decision making and to manage risks and opportunities of climate change is proceeding slowly." The NRC was particularly critical of the program's failure to engage stakeholders or advance scientific understanding of the impacts of climate change on human well-being. Looking to the future of the program, a 2008 NRC report<ref>[http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12595 Restructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change]</ref> put forward a set of research recommendations very similar to that embodied in the CCSP Strategic Plan revision of 2008.
The Climate Change Scientific Program was occasionally criticized for the alleged suppression of scientific information. In March 2005, [[Rick S. Piltz]] resigned from CCSP charging political interference with scientific reports: "I believe ...that the administration
==See also==
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* [[Effects of global warming]]
* [[National Assessment on Climate Change]]
*[[Land
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