The U.S. National Climate Assessment

12/25/22

“What are the definitive national reports released by the U.S. government to understand climate change in its environment?”

The U.S Global Change Research Act of 1990 was a landmark piece of legislation for the United States. One of its provisions declared that the U.S. Global Change Research Program was required to release a report every four years on the U.S.’s capabilities to anticipate, mitigate, and adapt to changes in the global environment. Coming in the form of The U.S. National Climate Assessment, these reports are designed to be an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change but do not include policy recommendations.

The U.S Global Change Research Act of 1990

12/21/22

“What jumpstarted the U.S.’s efforts to develop a comprehensive research program to understand climate change?”

In the last decade of the 20th century, the U.S. Congress passed a revolutionary piece of legislation. The U.S Global Change Research Act of 1990 set forth multiple requirements, specifically:

• Establishing the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences to carry out global change research.
• Codifying the U.S. Global Change Research Program to  create (in its own language) “a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change.”
• Evaluating the scientific content of the plan with the National Research Council and providing advice on future global change research priorities.
• Requiring the Council to submit a global change assessment at least every four years.
• Initiate dialogue on international climate agreements.
• Study the implications and consequences of growth and development in communities and assist state and local planning authorities with managing said growth while preserving “community character”.

Why Metro Systems Can Increase Their Climate Disaster Resilience by Being Less Dependent on Rider Fees

12/18/22

“Why can metro systems increase their climate disaster resilience by being less dependent on rider fees?”

Climate disasters often force massive amounts of people to leave an urban area. This will cause metro ridership to plummet, decreasing ticket sales. While this will lead to a decrease in system revenue, if the financing model is only lightly dependent on ticket sales then its damage will be minimized. This is Why Being Metro Systems Can Increase Their Climate Disaster Resilience by Being Less Dependent on Rider Fees.