National Climate report -- sobering facts

As mandated by law, the U.S. Global Change Research Program makes a report every four years, the latest of which has just been released as "The Fourth National Climate Assessment."  Here's the gist, as reported by the Washington Post:

“It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. . . .  For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence.”

"The report affirms that climate change is driven almost entirely by human action, warns of potential sea level rise as high as 8 feet by the year 2100, and enumerates myriad climate-related damages across the United States that are already occurring due to 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit of global warming since 1900."

Phil Duffy, director of the Woods Hole Research Center, is quoted saying:  "This is a federal government report whose contents completely undercut their policies . . . [and] the statements made by senior members of the administration.”

The Post article continues:  "Federal scientists have continued to author papers and issue reports on climate change . . . even as political appointees have altered the wording of news releases or blocked civil servants from speaking about their conclusions in public forums. . . .  

"[EPA] Administrator Scott Pruitt, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and President Trump have all questioned the extent of humans’ contribution to climate change.  One of EPA’s Web pages posted scientific conclusions similar to those in the new report until earlier this year, when Pruitt’s deputies ordered it removed. . .  [The Trump administration is] working to promote U.S. fossil fuel production and repeal several federal rules aimed at curbing the nation’s carbon output . . . [while] Trump has also announced he will exit the Paris climate agreement. . ."

The take-away warning of this report, as analyzed by Jeff Goodell of Rolling Stone magazine is this:   If we do not decrease our level of CO2 emissions, we have about 20 years before we reach cumulative carbon threshold that would be the tipping point into catastrophic effects.

Ralph