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430 results
Rocky Mountain Forests at Risk
The forests of the Rocky Mountains are facing a 'triple assault' of tree-killing insects, wildfires, and heat and drought, all amplified by human-caused global warming. Bark beetle outbreaks killed trees on 46 million acres between 2000 and 2012, while large wildfires have increased in frequency and intensity. Iconic species like whitebark pines, quaking aspens, and piñon pines are in catastrophic decline. Projections suggest that if emissions continue unchecked, average regional temperatures could rise by 10°F by the end of the century, potentially replacing conifer forests with shrublands or grasslands. The report advocates for risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, managing for resilience, increasing agency capacity, addressing community vulnerability, and deep reductions in heat-trapping emissions.
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Document type: Report
Playing with Fire
The report argues that rising temperatures and drier conditions in the American West, combined with a trend of building homes in wildfire-prone areas, have led to longer fire seasons and soaring suppression costs. It highlights a misalignment of incentives where federal taxpayers bear the brunt of firefighting costs while local zoning allows risky development. The document details the broad economic impacts of wildfires—extending far beyond direct suppression to include public health crises, infrastructure damage, and tourism losses—and recommends a shift toward resilience, stricter building codes, and carbon emission reductions.
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Document type: Report
Playing with Fire
The document argues that climate change is creating hotter, drier conditions in the American West, leading to more frequent and severe wildfires. This risk is compounded by increased residential and commercial development in fire-prone areas and federal policies that prioritize immediate fire suppression over proactive forest management. The report details the escalating economic costs of suppression and the broader impacts on infrastructure, public health, and water supplies, while recommending zoning reforms, fireproofing, and carbon emission reductions to build resilience.
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Document type: Executive summary
Cómo el cambio climático y los patrones de desarrollo están contribuyendo al aumento de los costos de los incendios forestales occidentales
The document argues that climate change is creating warmer, drier conditions in the western United States, leading to longer fire seasons and more frequent large wildfires. This environmental shift, combined with increased development in fire-prone areas and a federal management bias toward fire suppression over proactive risk reduction, has caused firefighting costs to exceed $1 billion annually since 2000. The report highlights significant secondary costs, including infrastructure damage, public health crises from smoke, and watershed rehabilitation. It recommends stricter zoning laws, carbon emission reductions, and a shift in funding toward long-term forest health and community resilience.
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Document type: Executive summary
Monumentos nacionales en riesgo
The document highlights how human-induced climate change is damaging U.S. cultural heritage, including prehistoric shell mounds in Florida, the historic districts of St. Augustine, and multiple NASA research and launch facilities. It emphasizes that sea-level rise and extreme weather are already causing structural damage and operational disruptions, calling for urgent national resources for adaptation and mitigation.
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Document type: Fact sheet
National Landmarks at Risk
The report highlights the vulnerability of iconic U.S. landmarks to climate-driven events. It details how sea level rise and storm surges threaten coastal sites like the Statue of Liberty and Jamestown, while increased heat and drought drive destructive wildfires in the West, affecting sites like Mesa Verde. The authors argue that climate resilience must become a national priority, requiring both resource allocation for site protection and a reduction in carbon emissions to mitigate future risks.
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Document type: Executive summary
National Landmarks at Risk
The report examines the vulnerability of iconic U.S. landmarks to climate change, highlighting risks such as sea level rise in coastal cities and increased wildfire activity in the Southwest. It argues for urgent national priority in climate resilience and carbon emission reduction to protect cultural heritage.
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Document type: Report
Power Failure
The U.S. electricity grid is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with the average annual cost of severe weather rising from $20 billion in the 1980s to $85 billion in the 2010s. Aging infrastructure, graded D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2013, is susceptible to sea level rise, wildfires, droughts, and heat waves. The report highlights that thermal power plants are particularly at risk due to their heavy reliance on water for cooling, which can lead to production cutbacks or shutdowns when water is too warm or scarce. To improve resilience, the document recommends 'hardening' measures, such as sea walls and burying power lines, alongside the adoption of distributed renewable energy and energy efficiency to reduce overall demand and carbon emissions.
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Document type: Report
Extreme Weather and Climate Change in the American Mind in November 2013
The report details shifts in how Americans in the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West experienced extreme weather between Fall 2012 and November 2013. It highlights a general consensus on the vulnerability of agriculture and electricity systems, with a majority of citizens advocating for government prioritization of water supplies, transportation, and public health. Additionally, 56% of Americans believe global warming is impacting U.S. weather.
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Document type: Executive summary
BLACKOUT: EXTREME WEATHER, CLIMATE CHANGE AND POWER OUTAGES
The report finds that weather-related power outages in the U.S. have increased significantly, with weather causing 80% of all major outages between 2003 and 2012. It identifies the Midwest and East as particularly vulnerable regions and argues that climate change acts as a 'threat multiplier,' increasing the frequency and intensity of storms, heat waves, and flooding that strain an aging electrical infrastructure.
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Document type: Report
Western Wildfires and Climate Change
Wildfires in the Western U.S. are becoming more frequent and the wildfire season is lengthening, driven by regional temperature increases that are double the global average and earlier spring snowmelt.
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Document type: Fact sheet
More deadly, destructive wildfires in today's news: can we prevent this being the new normal?
The document highlights a trend of increasingly destructive wildfires in the U.S., driven by climate change and a lack of funding for hazardous fuel reduction. It notes that forests are shifting from carbon sinks to emitters and that the U.S. Forest Service faces significant budget cuts despite rising fire risks. The author proposes that developing markets for woody biomass and bioenergy could provide a sustainable funding mechanism for forest restoration and wildfire prevention.
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Document type: Statement
Extreme Weather and Climate Change in the American Mind
The report finds that a majority of Americans perceive U.S. weather as having worsened in recent years, with 58% believing global warming affects U.S. weather. A high percentage of the population (85%) reported experiencing extreme weather in the past year, most commonly high winds and extreme heat. The document details regional variations in weather experiences and identifies public priorities for government protection of infrastructure, such as water supplies and transportation, against extreme weather over the next decade.
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Document type: Executive summary
Superstorm Sandy is a Wake-Up Call
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) calls for a fundamental shift in how the United States generates and distributes energy to address the increasing frequency and severity of climate-driven disasters. The author advocates for a 'moon-shot challenge' of energy transformation, emphasizing the need for a smarter, more resilient, and distributed power grid, as well as the integration of climate variability assumptions into all new infrastructure and building projects.
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Document type: Statement
extreme weather, climate & preparedness in the american mind
A 2012 survey of 1,008 American adults found that 82% personally experienced an extreme weather event in the previous year, and a majority believe U.S. weather is worsening. While many link high-profile disasters to global warming, only about a third of respondents have both an emergency plan and a supply kit. The report also highlights a public interest in hearing weathercasters discuss global warming, despite infrequent occurrences of such discussions in forecasts.
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Document type: Report
The Connection Between Climate Change and Recent Extreme Weather Events
The document outlines how human-induced climate change has increased the probability of intense heat waves, severe droughts, and large forest fires in the U.S., citing data from NOAA and other scientific bodies to show that these events are becoming more frequent and severe than natural variability alone can explain.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Managing Forests because Carbon Matters: Integrating Energy, Products, and Land Management Policy
The report examines the role of US forests and forest products in mitigating climate change, emphasizing that a rational policy must look beyond simple sequestration to include the carbon storage and substitution benefits of harvested wood. It analyzes forest carbon stocks and flows, the impact of climate-driven disturbances like wildfire and pests, and the life-cycle carbon benefits of using wood instead of steel or concrete. The authors critique the high transaction costs and measurement uncertainties of project-based carbon offsets, suggesting alternative policies such as information disclosure and updated building codes to promote the use of sustainable forest products.
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Document type: Report
Memorandum for journalists covering extreme weather in summer 2010 and links to climate change
The document argues that media outlets have a duty to connect the dots between a warming climate and the devastating weather events of 2010, such as heatwaves in Russia and flooding in Pakistan. It asserts that climate change will increase the frequency of severe weather, decrease crop yields, and worsen air quality, providing a list of scientific and journalistic resources to support this coverage.
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Document type: Briefing
Information and Communications Warning System on Wildland Fire in Mozambique
The document investigates the current state of wildland fire management in Mozambique, identifying a lack of systematic interagency coordination and a gap in the dissemination of satellite fire data from national to local levels. It argues for a holistic fire management approach that integrates satellite monitoring, a national Fire Danger Rating System, and community-based fire management (CBFiM) to mitigate the ecological and livelihood impacts of increasing fire frequency.
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Document type: Research paper
Sistema Informativo e de Comunicações para o Aviso Prévio de Queimadas em Moçambique
The report identifies a critical lack of coordinated institutional frameworks and systematic information flow regarding wildfires in Mozambique. While satellite data exists, it is not effectively disseminated from national to local levels. The document recommends establishing a national Fire Danger Rating System, enhancing the capacity to process MODIS and MSG satellite data, and integrating community-based fire management and traditional knowledge to reduce vulnerability to uncontrolled burns.
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Document type: Executive summary