Government officials held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the third report of the United States Global Change Research Program.

Some Key findings include:

* Climate changes are underway in the United States and are projected to grow. Climate-related changes are already observed in the United States and its coastal waters. These include increases in heavy downpours, rising temperature and sea level, rapidly retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost, lengthening growing seasons, lengthening ice-free seasons in the ocean and on lakes and rivers, earlier snowmelt, and alterations in river flows. These changes are projected to grow.
* Crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged. Agriculture is considered one of the sectors most adaptable to changes in climate. However, increased heat, pests, water stress, diseases, and weather extremes will pose adaptation challenges for crop and livestock production.
* Threats to human health will increase. Health impacts of climate change are related to heat stress, waterborne diseases, poor air quality, extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents. Robust public health infrastructure can reduce the potential for negative impacts.

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States – Home

Of course, people who haven’t read it, or don’t understand the science, or don’t want to understand, will pooh-pooh the whole thing.  All sorts of experts who aren’t climate scientists will chime in.  Fox News will have a field day dragging up unemployed experts to refute it.  And the beat goes on…  (This, by the way, is the same outfit that issued the report that Bush withheld a few years back.)