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Media Advisory

Upcoming EPA Report to Detail Regional Impacts of Climate Change on the Health, Livelihoods and Quality of Life for Americans

Various U.S. census regions to expect higher rates of death and disease, economic dislocation, property loss and strain on government services

[San Francisco] The impacts of climate change on heath and welfare for each of the U.S. census regions are detailed in a public draft of an upcoming report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scheduled for release Thursday, July 17.

The regional details are provided in thematic chapters that assess the national impacts of increased heat, extreme weather and rising sea level associated with climate change. In addition, a table provides a snapshot look of the impacts expected for each U.S. census region.

Resource Media has excerpted and organized the major findings by region in fact sheets that provide verbatim findings and page citations. The fact sheets are organized by geography — Northeast, South, Midwest and West – and can be found online at www.epaclimatereport.com. Contact info for regional experts is also included in the fact sheets.

The 237-page draft report, “Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health, Settlements and Welfare,” drew on the findings of hundreds of research publications. It’s one of 21 analyses of global warming by federal agencies conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, which coordinates climate change research by the federal government.

A complete copy of the draft report is available for public review online at:
http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-6/sap4-6-draft3.pdf

The report covers a wide range of topics, including the social and economic aspects that climate change has on human welfare and quality of life.

  • Heat: Almost every part of the country will experience higher average temperatures, but the impacts of increased heat will be particularly acute in urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest and across many areas of the West. The rapidly aging U.S. population as well as children and the poor will be particularly vulnerable to health impacts, such as cardio-vascular and pulmonary disease as well as higher death rates.
  • Extreme Weather: More intense storms, such as those that have led to severe flooding in the Midwest, will have costly impacts on individual health and welfare, as well as government services, infrastructure and economies. In other regions drought will tax water supplies in the rapidly growing west, increase threats of wildfire and damage weather-related economies such as agriculture, fishing and recreation.
  • Health: Climate change will significantly worsen the health threats associated with heat and air pollution; elevate the incidence of food-, water- and vector-borne disease and have costly impacts on public health systems. Some of these adverse impacts will not be avoidable, even with efforts to adapt to them.
  • Quality of Life: Climate change will affect the livelihoods and lifestyle of Americans. These disruptions will affect everything from economic prosperity to the way people play and their faith in government.
  • The West: The West is a “critical crossroads” for climate change. Its rapidly growing population will face scarcity of water, more wildfires, coastal flooding and costly disruptions to its resource-based economies.

Table ES.2 From the E.P.A. Report: Climate Change Impacts by Region

(Click on table for full size version.)

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