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November 9, 2009 Section 7: Introduction increased heat, pests, water stress, diseases, and weather extremes will pose adaptation challenges for crop and livestock production. 6. Coastal areas are at increasing risk from sea-level rise and storm surge. - Sea- level rise and storm surge place many U.S. coastal areas at increasing risk of erosion and flooding, especially along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Pacific Islands, and parts of Alaska. Energy and transportation infrastructure and other property in coastal areas are very likely to be adversely affected. 7. Threats to human health will increase. -Health impacts of climate change are related to heat stress, waterborne diseases, poor air quality, extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents. Robust public health infrastructure can reduce the potential for negative impacts. 8. Climate change will interact with many social and environmental stresses. - Climate change will combine with pollution, population growth, overuse of resources, urbanization, and other social, economic, and environmental stresses to create larger impacts than from any of these factors alone. 9. Thresholds will be crossed, leading to large changes in climate and ecosystems. - There are a variety of thresholds in the climate system and ecosystems. These thresholds determine, for example, the presence of sea ice and permafrost, and the survival of species, from fish to insect pests, with implications for society. 10. Future climate change and its impacts depend on choices made today. -The amount and rate of future climate change depend primarily on current and future human- caused emissions of heat-trapping gases and airborne particles. Responses involve reducing emissions to limit future warming, and adapting to the changes that are unavoidable. According to the International Climate Change Taskforce2, the European Union, and the 2007 Bali Declaration by Scientists,3 current scientific understanding states that a 2°C increase in average global temperature over the next century is a safe level of global warming. To minimize average global temperature increase to 2°C, greenhouse gas concentrations need to be stabilized at a level well below 450 parts per million. Achieving this level requires global z International Climate Change Task force. "Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change". 2005. http://www.americanprogress.orq/kf/climatechallenge.pdf a University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Centre. http://www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au/news/2007/Bali.html3 .~. ~~ ~~ ~F9~6 Page 2 .~ *,,v