Climate Change: Issues in the Science and Its Use

Abstract

The U.S. is on the threshold of major changes in how it conducts climate change science research. These changes are being driven by several imperatives. One driving force is the growing recognition of the role that societal and ecological processes play in climate change. Another is the need to better support stakeholders who require climate-related information for the development of mitigation policy and adaptation activities. Wide expectations that the new administration will give new impetus to U.S. climate change research, along with increased Congressional interest also play a role. Finally, a new consensus that climate change is progressing much more rapidly than projected just two years ago adds a sense of urgency to these topics. This paper presents a high level picture of this state of events and the key issues that have arisen. It is one in a series of papers looking at climate change issues. The purpose of this series of papers is to raise awareness of the full scope of climate-related concerns. By identifying the key issues, each paper identifies potential opportunities for strengthening the U.S. response to climate change.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA527893

Entities

People

  • Christine Youngblut

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Climate Change
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Protection
  • Geography
  • Glaciers
  • Greenhouse Effect
  • Information Systems
  • National Governments
  • Organizational Structure
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Economics