Global Warming News

U.S. Senate Committee to Consider Global Warming Legislation this Week

Scientists have said for years that global warming was “loading the dice” when it comes to increasing the frequency of severe storms, and a new Environment America report makes it clear that the East North Central region of the United States is already experiencing extreme downpours much more frequently.  Specifically, the new report found that storms with heavy precipitation are now 22% percent more frequent in the East North Central region (including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin) than they were 60 years ago.

“Some of the states in our region have seen a 30-40% increase in extreme rain events,” said Rebecca Stanfield, Director of Environment Illinois.  “Illinois hasn’t seen that kind of increase yet statewide, but the storms we had last summer gave us a taste of what Ohio, Missouri and Wisconsin have been seeing more regularly,” she said. 

Stanfield pointed to the rainstorm that hit Illinois last August as an illustration of what more extreme rainstorms could mean for the region.  That storm flooded basements in Chicago and raised the Kishwaukee River in DeKalb Illinois to above the severe flood stage, reaching the second-highest level ever recorded.  That series of storms dropped 18 inches of rain across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

“More frequent downpours, fueled by global warming, will leave the Midwest even more vulnerable to dangerous flooding in years to come,” said Stanfield.

The new Environment America report, When it Rains, It Pours: Global Warming and the Rising Frequency of Extreme Precipitation in the United States, examines trends in the frequency of large rain and snow events across the continental United States from 1948 to 2006.  Using data from 3,000 weather stations and a methodology originally developed by scientists at the National Climatic Data Center and the Illinois State Water Survey, the report identifies storms with the greatest 24-hour precipitation totals at each weather station, and analyzes when those storms occurred.

Nationally, the report shows that storms with extreme precipitation have increased in frequency by 24 percent across the continental United States since 1948.  At the state level, 40 states show a significant trend toward more frequent storms with extreme precipitation, while only one state (Oregon) shows a significant decline. 

Key findings for the East North Central Region include:

• Illinois experienced only a 4% increase in extreme precipitation events overall during the last 60 years, but the Southeast corner of the state saw a 49% increase during that same time.

• The East North Central Region had a 22% increase overall,  and

• The St. Louis Metro Area saw a 37% increase.

These findings are consistent with the predicted impacts of global warming.  Scientists expect some parts of the United States to receive more precipitation as a result of global warming, while other parts receive less.  But regardless of the trend in total precipitation, scientists predict that the rain and snow that does fall will be more likely to come in big downpours and heavy snowstorms. 

Stanfield was careful to note that an increase in the frequency of extreme rainstorms does not mean more water will be available.  Scientists expect that, as global warming intensifies, longer periods of relative dryness will mark the periods between extreme rainstorms, increasing the risk of drought.  For example, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that, under a scenario of intense warming, the percent of land enduring severe drought globally could be 30 times greater by the end of the century than it is today.

“How serious this problem gets is largely within our control – but only if our country acts boldly to reduce the pollution that fuels global warming,” said Stanfield

According to the most recent science, the United States must reduce its total global warming emissions by at least 15 percent by 2020 and by at least 80 percent by 2050 in order to prevent the worst effects of global warming. 

“Steep reductions in global warming pollution are challenging but achievable,” noted Stanfield, “and we already have the energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies we need to get started.”

Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee is expected to vote on amendments to the “Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007” (S. 2191), a global warming bill introduced by Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and Warner (R-VA).  While recognizing the important efforts of the bill’s supporters on this critical issue, Environment Illinois said that the legislation must be significantly strengthened to address the challenge of global warming.  Specifically, the bill’s current pollution reduction targets fall short of what the science says is necessary to avoid the worst effects of global warming, and the bill gives away far too many subsidies to dirty and dangerous energy sources.

 “We applaud Senator Durbin for backing the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act—the only legislation in Congress that would reduce pollution fast enough to protect future generations from the worst effects of global warming. We also urge him to speak out in favor of strengthening the “Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007,” concluded Stanfield.