Climate change already hitting Oregon

Climate change already is impacting Oregon, along with the rest of the country, authors of a new climate report said Tuesday.

Changes in snowmelt are reducing water supply, Oregon State University professor Philip Mote said.

Sea level rise, erosion and increasing ocean acidity are damaging infrastructure and ecosystems.

And increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks and tree diseases already are causing widespread forest die-offs. Almost complete loss of Oregon's subalpine forests is expected by the 2080s.

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"These three risks are not lurking on the horizon," Mote said. "They are here. The region is already having to adapt to these changes."

The third U.S. National Climate Assessment, the most comprehensive scientific assessment ever generated of climate change and its impacts, was released at a White House event today.

The report, commissioned by Congress, had more than 300 authors and was endorsed by 13 science agencies.

It warns that every region of the country will suffer from climate change.

Sea level rise will impact heavily populated areas in coastal areas.

"Today's occasional floods are tomorrow's high tides," said Kristen Dow, geography professor at the University of South Carolina.

Heat waves and heavy rain will become more frequent and extreme throughout the country.

And droughts and fires will grow in the Southwest.

But there also are opportunities to avert some of the predicted effects.

"All is not lost," said Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech. "The choices that we are making today will determine the changes and the impacts that we will live through in the future."

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, said the report should serve as a wake-up call.

"Without action, climate change will severely threaten every Oregonian's way of life," DeFazio said. "It's unacceptable to pretend climate change is not happening, and it's outrageous to push off its ill effects on future generations."

Conservation groups too called for curbing carbon pollution.

"The need to move away from dirty fossil fuels such as coal and fracked gas, the leading sources of climate-disrupting carbon pollution, could not be clearer or more urgent," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club.

"This report makes clear what farmers, first responders, and flood insurers have already seen firsthand: Global warming is increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events, contributing to sea level rise, and increasing drought in many regions," said Rikki Seguin of Environment Oregon.

The full report can be found here.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/SJWatchdog