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Pfft! We are likely going to have flooding in the midwest this year again. But you keep on listening to the doom and gloomers.
Yeah my sisters in KC been crying about another foot of snow coming their way monday. How soon we forget the floods of '93. The old earth figures out a way to take care of herself. All these know it all global warming nothings are just looking for a quick buck. With Obama at the helm they are getting it too.
This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Change Science Strategy expands on the Climate Variability and Change science component of the USGS 2007 Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges: USGS Science in the Coming Decade” (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). Here we embrace the broad definition of global change provided in the U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–606,104 Stat. 3096–3104)—“Changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life”—with a focus on climate and land-use change.
There are three major characteristics of this science strategy. First, it addresses the science required to broadly inform global change policy, while emphasizing the needs of natural-resource managers and reflecting the role of the USGS as the science provider for the Department of the Interior and other resource-management agencies. Second, the strategy identifies core competencies, noting 10 critical capabilities and strengths the USGS uses to overcome key problem areas. We highlight those areas in which the USGS is a science leader, recognizing the strong partnerships and effective collaboration that are essential to address complex global environmental challenges. Third, it uses a query-based approach listing key research questions that need to be addressed to create an agenda for hypothesis-driven global change science organized under six strategic goals. Overall, the strategy starts from where we are, provides a vision for where we want to go, and then describes high-priority strategic actions, including outcomes, products, and partnerships that can get us there.
Global change science is a well-defined research field with strong linkages to the ecosystems, water, energy and minerals, natural hazards, and environmental health components of the USGS Science Strategy (2007). When science strategies that cover these other components are developed, coordinated implementation will be necessary to achieve Bureau-level synergies and optimize capabilities and expertise.
In October 2010, USGS realigned its management and budget structure to implement its 2007 Science Strategy. The new organizational structure, in which “Global Change” is one of seven key mission areas, lends itself to the advancement of the established six strategic goals. USGS global change science is formally represented by the “Climate and Land-Use Change” Mission Area in the FY 2012 budget (USGS, 2011).
This plan was developed by the USGS Global Change Science Strategy Planning Team (SSPT) appointed by the USGS Director on March 4, 2010 and charged with developing a Global Change Science Strategy for the coming decade (McNutt, 2010). USGS managers and science staff are the main audience for this science strategy. This document is also intended to serve as the foundation for consistent USGS collaboration and communication with partners and stakeholders.
Last edited by KS_Referee; 02-23-2013 at 10:24 PM..
I have always wondered about water shortages, especially in high desert areas, like La's Vegas, and places in California. There are lush farms, using acres of water,, drawing from aquifers that took millions of years to accumulate, yet are being drawn out faster than being replaced. Over use of the Colorado river and over reliance on it is a hot topic in the west, where not only is water the issue, but also the electricity generated by the many dams. If that water stops flowing, so will electricity. Ever seen the growing bathtub ring around lake Mead? There are problems there...
Look at land use and irrigation in Arizona...crops growing, using ground water....that is a problem...and no one wants to acknowledge it. It may not be an issue in my lifetime, but I am sure it will hit the fan in my Grandchildren's lifetime.
No, we are not ready for a drought.
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