Research and Discussion | 2014 Is Climate Change even a thing? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Research and Discussion | 2014

Is Climate Change even a thing?

National Climate Assessment 2014 “Global climate is changing and this change is apparent across a wide range of observations. The global warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human activities.” National Academy of Science, America’s Climate Change Choices 2014 “Climate change is underway and poses serious risks for both human societies and natural systems” Quadrennial Defense Review 2014 “The impacts of climate change may increase the frequency, scale, and complexity of future missions, including defense support to civil authorities, while at the same time undermining the capacity of our domestic installations to support training activities .” The pressures caused by climate change will influence resource competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies, and governance institutions around the world. These effects are threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social tensions – conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence .”

What are the facts?

Threats FACTS  Urban:  Temperature Trends are getting  Infrastructure will be warmer increasingly compromised  Rural:  Heavy downpours are increasing  Highly dependent upon  More extreme weather natural resources that are being impacted  Health:  More frequent and more intense  Impacts from extreme hurricanes weather events, wildfire, air  The sea level is rising quality, and illnesses transmitted by food, water,  Temperatures are reducing ice and insects  Transportation: cover  Sea level rise, storm surge,  Oceans are becoming acidic due and extreme weather affect reliability and capacity to carbon dioxide  Agriculture:  Declines in crops and livestock due to weeds, diseases, and insects

Charts available on the National Climate Assessment 2014

Are the facts actionable?

Actions REPORTS  Get educated  The National Climate Assessment (2014)  The Quadrennial Defense Review (2014)  The Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaption Task Force (2010) Web Sites  America’s Climate Choices Series (2014)  GlobalChange.gov  Climate Change Evidence & Causes from  ClimatePath.org the Royal Society and U.S. National Academy of Sciences (2013)  EPA.gov/ClimateChange  TheGuardian.com/environment/climate-change  WRI.org (the World Resource Institute)  NCDC.NOAA.gov

Actions Take a close look at the last  Get educated 10 years…  Revisit your hazard assessment  List you activations/responses  How many of each hazard did you respond to:  Snow  Hurricane  Heat waves  Floods  Fires  Tornados

Actions  Are your plans documented?  Get educated  Do your plans speak to your responses?  Do you have everything you need ?  Revisit your hazard assessment  Equipment?  Do a plan review  Resources?  Are your people familiar with your plans?

Actions  Get educated  Are you constantly going over budget?  Do you find you have to buy things that  Revisit your hazard assessment were not budgeted?  Are you buying things with a long shelf-  Do a plan review life?  Will this be the right equipment in 5  Review your budget years? In 10 years?

Actions  Get educated  Do they have the training they need?  Revisit your hazard assessment  Do you have the right people on staff?  Do a plan review  Do they understand the evolving hazards?  Review your budget  Develop your people

Actions  Get educated  Revisit your hazard assessment  Do a plan review  Review your budget  Develop your people  Be open to information

How do I get involved? Email: Rob Dale, PEM, rdale@skywatch.org http://www.iaem.com/climate-change-and-weather

 “Climate Change Doomed the Ancients” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/opini on/climate-change-doomed-the- ancients.html?_r=0  “World Carbon Dioxide Emissions Data by Country” http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablo g/2011/jan/31/world-carbon-dioxide- emissions-country-data-co2  New Mexico Politics & Climate Change http://www.truth- out.org/news/item/23928-truthout- interviews-dahr-jamail-on-new-mexico- politics-and-climate-change  DOD Official: Climate Change is Critical to Homeland Security http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/41290? c=infrastructure_protection

 The National Climate Assessment (2014)  The Quadrennial Defense Review (2014)  The Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaption Task Force (2010)  America’s Climate Choices Series (2014)  Climate Change Evidence & Causes from the Royal Society and U.S. National Academy of Sciences (2013)

 GlobalChange.gov  ClimatePath.org  EPA.gov/ClimateChange  TheGuardian.com/environment/climate-change  WRI.org (the World Resource Institute)  NCDC.NOAA.gov

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