US Global Change Research Program Climate Science Special Report (CSSR)
Fifth-Order Draft (5OD)
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President Donald Trump and other politicians might be skeptical of climate change, but US government scientists are forceful and unanimous in their conclusions: The planet is heating up. It’s going to get hotter. Humans caused it to get hotter, and are continuing to cause further warming, and drastic declines in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop the warm up from continuing. Predating the Hurricane Harvey disaster, this study didn’t get much support from the White House – but it garnered widespread attention after an insider leaked it to The New York Times, which posted it online in August 2017. This version is a first draft – given to the press before any government editing, vetting or authorization. It is the creation of scientists from NASA, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, among other federal agencies, along with researchers from the University of California, the University of Illinois, North Carolina State University and other institutions. Readers beware: While the information in this clear-eyed report is of utmost importance, the prose requires patience. Heavy on jargon, acronyms, meandering sentences and ponderous footnotes, the document reads like what it is: the product of a committee of government scientists (“paramaterized” or “covariance analyses,” anyone?). getAbstract recommends this authoritative report to investors, scientists, managers and voters seeking analysis of a defining political, economic and scientific issue.
Summary
About the Authors
Donald Wuebbles of the National Science Foundation teaches atmospheric science at the University of Illinois. David Fahey is a research physicist at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System Research Laboratory. Kathleen Hibbard is a program manager for NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology Program.
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