Lead Authors Available to Discuss New U.S. Climate Report

May 27, 2008

BOULDER—The convening lead authors of today's landmark government report on climate change impacts in the United States are available for comment.

The report, produced under the auspices of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, finds that climate change is already affecting U.S. agriculture, land and water resources, and biodiversity. Future impacts may include a higher risk of crop failures and livestock mortality, increased damage to forests from fires and insect outbreaks, more rapid growth of weeds, and changes in drought and precipitation patterns. Some crops and other plants may mature more rapidly or become more productive, while others will be adversely affected.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was the lead agency on the report, which was written by 38 authors from universities, nongovernmental organizations, and federal laboratories. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) oversaw production of the report. The three convening lead authors are:

Peter Backlund, NCAR

Anthony Janetos, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland

David Schimel, National Ecological Observatory Network

Scheduling interviews

To schedule interviews with one of the authors, please contact the media relations staffer for the appropriate organization.

David Hosansky, NCAR Media Relations
303-497-8611
hosansky@ucar.edu

Rachael Drummond, NCAR Media Relations
303-497-8604
rachaeld@ucar.edu

Mary Beckman, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
509-375-3688
mary.beckman@pnl.gov

Dan Johnson, National Ecological Observatory Network
202-628-1500, ext. 215
djohnson@neoninc.org

Download the report:

The report, including Executive Summary and individual chapters, can be downloaded from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site (via the"Related Topics" section):

"Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3 (SAP 4.3): The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States"

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The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research under sponsorship by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.