United States’ greenhouse emissions are relatively high per capita, and the second largest in total after China. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the surface temperature rose 1 °F (0.56 °C) between 1950 and 2009, and 2012 was the warmest year on record.
Broad Trends in Response to United States Warming
The NOAA says trends include, “lake and river ice melting earlier in the spring, plants blooming earlier, multiple animal species shifting their habitat ranges northward, and reductions in the size of glaciers.”
Moreover other research reports predict, “The spread of invasive species and possibilities of floods as well as droughts.” We will be reporting on individual U.S. states in the weeks that follow. However we can already detect drier conditions in southwest United States, with a compensating improvement in the northeast. Notwithstanding, there is still a lack of consensus on how to respond to this.
Severe Warnings Emerge in 2013 for Great Lakes Region
A National Climate Study by the University of Michigan predicted longer growing seasons and greater emissions by 2050. However it warned that, “heat waves, droughts, and floods were also forecast to rise.” The model applied a 3.8 to 4.9 °F (2.1 to 2.7 °C) warming from 2000 to 2050 which may be excessive.
There is little consensus over whether warming has a causative effect on hurricanes, tornadoes, and other unusual storms. Nor what the long-term implications are of west coast sea levels rising by an average 0.83 inches per decade.
The United States is a nation divided over global warming. Some states are reducing emissions with green energy policies, while others are less enthusiastic. But then that is all part of being a fiercely independent, diverse nation. Indeed, the same diversity of opinion exists on a global level. We fear we shall only see consensus in the United States when climate change really bites, which many Americans doubt will ever happen.
Related
History of Wind Power in the United States
Could Batteries Power the United States?
Preview Image: Average U.S.Temperature Stabilized Emissions
