New Global Warming Report Due Today

UPDATE: The report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program is out, you can read it at GlobalChange.gov.

A major new report on the climate crisis is due today. We got some hints at some the current trends and worst-case scenarios from a January draft:

-- climate change is already affecting water, energy, transportation, agriculture, ecosystems and health, differing from region to region and expected to grow if the climate changes as projected;

-- agriculture is one sector most able to adapt to climate change, but increased temperature, pests, diseases and weather extremes will challenge crops and livestock production;

-- threats to human health will increase, especially those related to heat stress, water-borne diseases, reduced air quality, extreme weather events and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents;

-- sea-level rise and storm surge place many U.S. coastal regions at increasing risk of erosion and flooding, especially along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Pacific islands and parts of Alaska; energy and transportation infrastructure in coastal cities is very likely to be adversely affected.

The report will put new pressure on Virginia members of Congress like Rob Wittman and Frank Wolf, who've wavered on support for clean energy & climate legislation. How long will they ignore the threats to Virginia's coastline and to Virginians themselves?