Content deleted Content added
m →Other synthesis and assessment products: archive link repair, may include: archive.* -> archive.today, and http->https for ghostarchive.org and archive.org (wp:el#Specifying_protocols) |
GreenC bot (talk | contribs) Rescued 2 archive links. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#epa.gov |
||
| (7 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{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]])
Line 16:
====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.
Line 26:
====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.
Line 60:
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 | access-date=15 June 2010 | journal=New York Times | date=June 20, 2006 }}</ref> who was also a lead author of SAP 4.1. Early drafts included the maps and results, but the final draft did not. Experts and environmental organizations objected to the deletions. The federal advisory committee also took issue with the maps' removal from SAP 4.1 and recommended that EPA publish the mapping study.<ref>[
{{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>
Line 92:
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)====
Line 129:
===''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.
Line 143:
==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===
Line 170:
===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| access-date=2006-11-05}},{{Cite web
| url =
| title = Bush Disses Global Warming Report
| work = [[CBS News]]
Line 181:
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==
| |||