Global Warming News

Trenton, NJ - Today, 13 government science agencies issued the most definitive scientific assessment to date of the impacts of global warming on the United States and reinforced the urgency of acting now to reduce pollution.  The story the report, the “Global Climate Change Impacts in the U.S.” tells for New Jersey is one of more extreme heat waves, flooding and rising sea levels and inundated coastlines if global warming pollution levels are not dramatically and rapidly cut.  According to Environment New Jersey, the report also tells another story – one of opportunity to avert disaster by converting to a clean energy economy.

The report states that, “Sizable early cuts in emissions would significantly reduce the pace and the overall amount of climate change.  Earlier cuts in emissions would have a greater effect in reducing climate change than comparable reductions made later.”

“The good news in this report is that the future isn’t written yet,” said Doug O’Malley, field director for Environment New Jersey.  “By repowering America with clean energy, we can not only stop the worst effects of global warming, but we can recharge our economy, creating millions of jobs in the process.”

The report found that global warming has already raised average temperatures in the Northeast by 2 degrees Fahrenheit and has led to an earlier arrival of spring by 10 days to two weeks across the country than 20 years ago. If global warming pollution continues under the report’s high emissions scenario, scientists expect New Jersey to experience the following impacts:

1) Seasonal Shift: Over the next several decades, temperatures are projected to rise an additional 2.5 to 4°F in winter and 1.5 to 3.5°F in summer.  Hot summer conditions would arrive three weeks earlier and last three weeks longer into the fall, and the length of the winter snow season would be reduced to a week or two in southern parts of the Northeast like New Jersey. The number of 100°F will spike, and the growing conditions will rapidly deteriorate for cranberry and blueberry crops, and there will be additional pressure on the dairy industry.

2) Sea Level Rise: Recent estimates of global sea-level rise substantially exceed the IPCC estimates, suggesting sea-level rise between 3 and 4 feet in this century. Even a 2-foot rise in relative sea level over a century would result in the loss of a large portion of the nation’s remaining coastal wetlands, as they are not able to build new soil at a fast enough rate. What is currently called a 100-year storm is projected to occur as often as every 5 years. Much of the critical transportation infrastructure, including tunnels, subways, and airports, lies well within the range of projected storm surge and would be flooded during such events.

·   3) Flooding: Heavy downpours can overload drainage systems and water treatment facilities, increasing the risk of water-borne diseases. Downpours can trigger sewage overflows, contaminating drinking water and endangering beachgoers. The consequences will likely be particularly severe in the 950 U.S. cities and towns that have “combined sewer systems;” an older design that carries storm water and sewage in the same pipes. In 2004, the EPA estimated it would cost $203 billion to address these and other needs of wastewater treatment systems.

“This report is like déjà vu all over again. The impact of global warming isn’t just going to be polar bears in the Arctic, but sea-level rise and drastic flooding along our coasts and a much hotter New Jersey if we don’t do anything to reduce global warming emissions,” O’Malley said.

Burning fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas – is responsible for the vast majority of U.S. global warming emissions.  Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill to put a first-ever federal limit on global warming pollution and set a framework for moving to a clean energy economy.

”Our choices today will determine the future we and our children face.  Our New Jersey delegation should stand in a bipartisan fashion on the side of a cleaner, smarter energy future and support strengthening and passing the American Clean Energy and Security Act,” said O’Malley. 

Clean energy has been a bright spot in our economy in recent years.  According to a survey of green businesses by the Pew Charitable Trusts, job growth in the emerging clean energy economy has been more than twice as fast as in the economy as a whole - 9.1 percent growth in green businesses compared with 3.8 percent in all businesses combined.  Economists at the University of Massachusetts calculated that a $100 billion investment in building a clean energy economy could create as many as 2 million new, well-paying jobs here in the United States in just two years.

“The economics of clean energy and the science on global warming make it quite clear that now is the time to unleash the power of clean energy to protect our environment and transform our economy,” said O’Malley.

The study was prepared by the United State Global Change Research Program,, a joint venture of 13 federal agencies and the White House. Under a 1990 law, the group is required to report every 10 years on natural and human-caused effects on the environment. The current study, which began in the Bush Administration, builds on the 2000 report.

The study, overseen by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will be posted at www.globalchange.gov/usimpacts this afternoon.

# # #