http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/october/nasa-program-enhances-climate-resilience-at-agency-facilities Source:   NASA RELEASE 14-292. For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: A new study in the latest issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society provides an in-depth look at how NASA facilities have been affected by climate extremes and climate change in recent years and how the agency is preparing for the future. ...The study found that by the 2050s, sea level rise alone could lead to an increase of 50 percent or more in coastal flooding frequency with varying impacts to NASA facilities, a high percentage of which are located near coastlines. In total, the agency has approximately $32 billion in constructed assets and about 64,000 employees, contractors and partners. ...Adaptation strategies underway and under consideration include: beach re-nourishment to minimize sea level rise and storm surge impacts; building designs that reduce reliance on the remote power

http://epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/fed-programs/Final-EPA-Adaptation-plans.html Source:   EPA For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: On October 31, 2014, EPA released the final versions of its Agency-wide Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PDF, 64pp, 1.7mb) and the 17 Climate Change Adaptation Implementation Plans produced by the Program and Regional Offices. These final versions were revised from earlier drafts following public comment periods. They respond to directives in Executive Order 13653 - Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change (PDF, 8pp, 325kb). The final EPA Plan and the 17 Implementation Plans are living documents that will be periodically revised in subsequent years to account for new knowledge, data, scientific evidence, and lessons learned from the Agency’s ongoing efforts to integrate climate adaptation planning into its programs, policies, rules and operations....

http://www.onearth.org/earthwire/uncle-sam-wants-you Source:    Brian Palmer, onEarth, NRDC For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: The Pentagon released its first big report on global warming in 2000 . Three years later came a paper by military strategists with the stated purpose of “imagining the unthinkable”—namely, climate change as a national security threat. Then 2007 brought another report, published by retired generals , and a climate conference paid for by U.S. Army War College. And earlier this month, the Pentagon released its most recent global warming manifesto, the “ 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap ,” to much fanfare. These reports make it clear that the U.S. military will have to deal with a lot of global turmoil due to climate change. Increased droughts could fuel wars over water rights, and as agriculture suffers, skirmishes could break out over fertile land, too. Some commentators have linked a climate change–induced drought to the rise of the terror

http://www.georgetownclimate.org/adaptation/state-and-local-plans For GSS Climate Change chapter 9. Excerpt: States and communities around the country have begun to prepare for the climate changes that are already underway.  This planning process typically results in a document called an adaptation plan.  The map at this site highlights the status of state adaptation efforts.... Source:   Georgetown Climate Center For Investigation:   10.3

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators Excerpt: ...Temperatures are rising, snow and rainfall patterns are shifting, and more extreme climate events—like heavy rainstorms and record high temperatures—are already taking place. EPA ... working with many other organizations to collect and communicate data about climate change... EPA has compiled the third edition of this report, presenting 30 indicators to help readers understand observed long-term trends related to the causes and effects of climate change. ...Most indicators focus on the United States, but some include global trends to provide context or a basis for comparison, or because they are intrinsically global in nature.... Source:   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency For Investigation:   10.3

http://www.aaas.org/news/science-us-sees-increase-days-multiple-tornadoes Excerpt: ...Since 1954, there has been a decrease in the number of days per year in the U.S. with any tornadoes, but an increase in the number of days with many tornadoes, according to a new study published in the 17 October issue of journal Science. "It was surprising to see," said the study's lead author Harold Brooks, senior research scientist at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory. "I would naively expect these trends to go in the same direction." ...Brooks and colleagues also observed that despite speculation climate change is causing more tornadoes, the overall number of tornadoes each year since 1954 has remained relatively constant. ...Although the annual number of EF1 or greater tornadoes remained relatively constant over the period evaluated, the researchers did see that tornadoes have been clustering more since the 1970s. A single day in April 2011, for e

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/us/pentagon-says-global-warming-presents-immediate-security-threat.html Source:    B y Coral Davenport, The New York Times For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: The Pentagon on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages. It also predicted rising demand for military disaster responses as extreme weather creates more global humanitarian crises. The report lays out a road map to show how the military will adapt to rising sea levels, more violent storms and widespread droughts. ...Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking Monday at a meeting of defense ministers in Peru, highlighted the report’s findings and the global security threats of climate change. ...“The loss of glaciers will strain water supplies in several areas of our hemisphere,” Mr. Hagel said. “Destruction and devastation

http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Satellites-see-hot-spot-of-methane-in-US-Southwest-5812284.php Source:   By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Science Writer. For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: A surprising hot spot of the potent global-warming gas methane hovers over part of the southwestern U.S., according to satellite data. ...The higher level of methane is not a local safety or a health issue for residents, but factors in overall global warming. It is likely leakage from pumping methane out of coal mines. ...Within that hot spot, a European satellite found atmospheric methane concentrations equivalent to emissions of about 1.3 million pounds a year.  ...The amount of methane in the Four Corners — an area covering about 2,500 square miles — would trap more heat in the atmosphere than all the carbon dioxide produced yearly in Sweden. That's because methane is 86 times more potent for trapping heat in the short-term than carbon dioxide.... . See also N

http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2014/10/whats-going-antarctic-sea-ice Source:  By Carolyn Gramling, Science AAAS. For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt:  ...The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) announced this week that the sea ice surrounding Antarctica reached its maximum extent ...also set a record for the highest extent of sea ice around the continent since satellite measurements began in the late 1970s. ...uptick in Antarctic sea ice is still only a fraction (about a third) of the rapid loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. ...This enigma has puzzled scientists, and it’s an active area of research; ...while the overall climate is warming, it’s a complicated system: The warming climate is also changing weather patterns. Multiple studies have been looking into how these changes might affect sea ice extent: for example, changes in prevailing wind patterns or in the magnitude of ocean waves, both of which can herd the ice toward or away from the coast....

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/35-000-walrus-come-ashore-in-northwest-Alaska-5791705.php Source:   By Dan Joling, Associated Press. For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpts: ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Pacific walrus that can't find sea ice for resting in Arctic waters are coming ashore in record numbers on a beach in northwest Alaska. An estimated 35,000 walrus were photographed Saturday about 5 miles north of Point Lay, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ...The enormous gathering was spotted during NOAA's annual arctic marine mammal aerial survey, spokeswoman Julie Speegle said by email. ...The gathering of walrus on shore is a phenomenon that has accompanied the loss of summer sea ice as the climate has warmed. ...Unlike seals, walrus cannot swim indefinitely and must rest. They use their tusks to "haul out," or pull themselves onto ice or rocks. ..."It's another remarkable sign of the dramatic environment