The Most Definitive Report on Climate Change in America

The burning of coal, oil, and gas is changing the global climate faster now than at any other time in modern human history, threatening our national security, our economic prosperity, and our children’s future. All this will get worse, perhaps unimaginably so, unless we shift to cleaner, smarter ways to power our future — and do so now, because we’re running out of time.

Tropical Storm Irma’s effects in Charleston, South Carolina.

That’s the conclusion of the new National Climate Assessment, the most definitive report ever compiled on climate change in America. The congressionally mandated quadrennial review pulls together experts from 13 federal agencies to connect the dots between what the science is telling us and what we’re seeing on our TVs, in our newspapers, and out our kitchen windows. “The impacts and costs of climate change are already being felt in the United States,” the report states in sum. “Future risks from climate change depend primarily on decisions made today.”

In little more than a century, the temperature has risen 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, on average, across the continental United States. That might not sound like much, but it is remaking the map of America and altering the country in ways that touch every aspect of our lives.

Read the story from the Natural Resources Defence Council by Rhea Suh - “The Most Definitive Report on Climate Change in America.”

UN says 2017 set to be among top three hottest years, as Bonn climate talks seek action despite US stance

This year will be among the three hottest on record, the United Nations says, as almost 200 countries begin talks in Germany to bolster a global climate accord that the United States plans to quit.

A polar bear greets delegates at a UN
climate change conference in Bonn.

Temperatures this year will be slightly less than during a record-breaking 2016 and roughly level with 2015, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said, part of a long-term warming trend driven by greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.

"We have witnessed extraordinary weather," WMO head Petteri Talaas said, pointing to extreme events including a spate of hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean, monsoon floods in Asia and drought in East Africa.

The WMO attributed the small dip from last year to the fading effects of a natural El Nino event that released extra heat from the Pacific Ocean in 2016.

Read the ABC News story - “UN says 2017 set to be among top three hottest years, as Bonn climate talks seek action despite US stance.”

'Sustainability no longer a choice' - Unilever CEO

(Paul Polman has been CEO of Unilever since January 2009. Polman is chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the B Team, and the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development; and serves on the board of the U.N. Global Compact. In 2016, the U.N. Secretary-General asked Polman to be a member of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group, tasked with promoting action on the 2030 Agenda. Polman contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.)

Our understanding of the global climate, economic system and world has changed dramatically over the past decade. And with it, the roles and responsibilities of businesses have also changed.

But even amid this rapid disruption, there are certainties. Businesses, in agreement with scientists and national leaders, know it's critical that we limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) — or, better still, 1.5 C (2.7 F) — to avoid the most dangerous consequences of climate change.

Read the OP-Ed on LiveScience - “Unilever CEO: Why Sustainability Is No Longer a Choice.”

What people get wrong about climate change - VOX

It's widely recognized now that the global climate is increasingly a product of human activities. But less understood is how human activities are a product of the global climate.

The chart below shows what life was like for much of human history. Using data from ice cores, it indicates how temperatures varied over time. Notice the relatively flat line over the past 10,000 years — that's when agriculture began:

Read the VOX story - “What people get wrong about climate change.”