The new-old report, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States” from the US Global Change Research Program calls itself “the most comprehensive and authoritative report of its kind.” It is emphatic in tone, as seen right off the top at its “key findings” page – additional links in Grist below. Wildlife is migrating or otherwise responding, rainfall and temperature patterns have changed, heavy rains are up, and things will only get more intense, it says without equivocation.

(The Tracker, always on the lookout for places that ought to use more good rewrite people, wonders in style dudgeon why in the world the report’s succinct intro lapses blowsily by saying “impacts in the US are already occurring and are projected to increase in the future….” Oh, it will happen in the future. If it’ll be today, or this week, or not for 50 years, that’s value added. But there should be a law against writing an empty “in the future” in sentences that use the future tense plus employ such words as “are projected,” as though changes that will or might happen have an alternative than in the future to do so. The report overall, one adds, appears commendable for its direct use of plain English without too much passive voice).

Many outlets wrote the story. Biggest circulation is likely to go, as usual, to the AP. There Seth Borenstein handles it without hyperbole and with a useful angle. Compared to the last administration’s circulation of what is essentially the same report, mandated by some kind of law , he writes that this rollout “is paradoxically more dire about what’s happening and more optimistic about what can be done.” His story stresses reactions by various players in the climate politics world, with only enough samplings of the report’s conclusions to show what his sources are talking about. Several tell us there are a few tipping points already upon us, and that cannot be undone.

Interesting it is that a British newspaper, The Guardian, perhaps taking some of its info and a quote from AP, nonetheless has one of the sharpest takes on the report’s substance as well as its careful crafting and tactical presentation at the Tuesday Press Conference, from Suzanne Goldenberg : Obama targets US public with call for climate action . A version of this report, with an additional byline for Adam Morton, runs in Australia’s The Age.

Other stories:

• Reuters – Jeff Mason: US climate report details energy, agriculture harm;
• Time Magazine – Bryan Walsh: New Climate Change Report; From Bad to Worse; Not really a news story. Tracker agrees with it, but it’s a column.
• USA Today – Dan Vergano, Doyle Rice: ‘Game Changer’: Report on climate change urges action ; Notable for including a sidebar snort from James Connaughton, head of the Bush White House Council on Environmental Quality. He says, with justification one thinks, that the new report is exactly what the former administration compiled – but the new gang didn’t even acknowledge that.
• SF Chronicle/ Hearst – Jennifer A. Dlouhy: New report stresses immediacy of global warming ; Immediacy? Wonky hed, urgent but somewhat awkward story.
• AFP – Karin Zeitvogel : Climate change is happening ‘here, now’ : US report ;
• Washington Post – David A. Fahrenthold: Report on Warming Offers New Details / Estimates Specify Effect on Different Regions of U.S. ;
• NYTimes – Lauren Morello (with ClimateWire): US Study Proejcts How ‘Unequivocal Warming’ Will Change Americans’ Lives ;
• Voice of America – Kate Woodsome : US Government Scientists Call For Urgent Action on Global Warming ; She gets in a riposte from meteorologist William Gray at Colorado State.
• Baltimore Sun (blog) – Tim Wheeler : US report: climate changing here now ;
• Wired – Alexis Madrigal : From Sewage to Salmon, Climate Change Hitting Here and Now.
• PBS Newshour: White House Says Cliamte Change Already Affecting U.S. ;

And elsewhere, a climate change politics reality check:

• Deseret News – Lisa Riley Roche: Herbert challenges reality of global climate change ; He’s state lt. governor. But in Utah, lots of people scoff at G. Warming.
• To be fair about Utah: Salt Lake Tribune – Judy Fahys  : “Report: Climate change is here, should be dealt with now.”

Grist for the Mill:

US Global Change Research Program Newsroom Site ; National Academies Science in the Headlines ;

-CP

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Environment & Energy Stories, Science Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.