A new report from the nation’s top science agencies, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States,” is available in full and in summary from the US Global Change Research Program Web site.

The report, released yesterday by presidential science advisor John Holdren and NOAA director Jane Lubchenco, represents an unprecedented multi-agency summary of the science and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It focuses on climate change impacts in different regions of the U.S. – including the Pacific Northwest – and on various aspects of society and the economy.

“This report demonstrates that climate change is happening now, in our own backyard, and it affects the things that people care about,” Lubchenco said.

A printable .pdf fact sheet summarizes what the Northwest can expect from changing climate, including rising sea levels, further stresses on salmon and other coldwater fish, and reduced water supplies due to declining winter snow packs.

For more information about the scientific and cultural challenges posed by a changing climate, visit Oregon Sea Grant’s Climate Change page.