The U. S. National Climate Assessment: Effects of Warming and Measures to Counteract Them
Summary . The Third U. S. National Climate Assessment, a federally mandated project, reports on the current status of global warming in the U. S. and its harmful effects on the population and the environment. As a result of manmade emissions of greenhouse gases, damages resulting from harsh warming events and extreme weather events have been worse than in earlier periods. They are projected to be become even more severe by the end of the present century in the absence of meaningful action to combat them. Mitigation and adaptation measures are available and need to be implemented to limit further warming and its harmful effects by 2100. Important procedures involved in combating further warming include risk assessment and evaluation, and iterative (cyclical) sequences of planning, decision-making and implementation of projects, coupled with critical analysis of steps in these processes along the way. Applying the results of such analysis back to opti...