GLIN==> Global Warming Bringing More Oddball Winter Weather to Great Lakes region

Global Warming Bringing More Oddball Winter Weather to Great Lakes
region
 
NWF Report Says Bigger Storms, Disruptions to Local Economies Expected

 
ANN ARBOR, MI (January 28, 2010) – The Great Lakes region will
experience bigger snowstorms but less ice cover on lakes in the years
ahead as global warming continues to have peculiar effects on winter
weather, according to a new report from the National Wildlife
Federation. Local conservation groups are responding by saying the U.S.
should do more to avert global warming.  
 
The report says that contrary to what one might expect from global
warming in winter – that they would be milder and shorter – there will
be surprises the Great Lakes states would see, such as: increased lake
effect snowfall but less snow for skiers and snowmobile riders; unstable
ice fishing conditions; heavier rainfall and more flooding. Those
impacts then have a ripple effect by altering local ecosystems, harming
agriculture, straining government budgets, and reducing winter weather
tourism and recreation. 
 
“Oddball winter weather is yet another sign of how uncontrolled carbon
pollution amounts to an unchecked experiment on people and nature,” said
the report’s lead author, Dr. Amanda Staudt, climate scientist, National
Wildlife Federation. “While global warming means shorter, milder winters
on average, there will also be a lot of surprises that will put a strain
on people, governments, economies and wildlife.”
 
“The report details how climate change will lead to more erratic
winters in the Great Lakes region,” said Don Scavia, Graham Family
Professor and Director, Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute,
University of Michigan. “Climate change is already altering our
environment and way of life. These disruptions will only get worse the
longer we wait to address climate change.”
 
Activists for local conservation groups expressed concern about the
findings and said it’s long past time for implementation of clean energy
policies that would dampen the negative impacts of global warming while
improving the nation’s energy independence and national security while
creating clean energy jobs. 
 
“We love our winters in Michigan and this report should be a wake-up
call,” said Brenda Archambo, a third-generation ice angler and
conservationist who lives in northern Michigan’s Cheboygan County. “We
need to take steps to help communities and winter-dependent industries
prepare for some of the changes that we can no longer avoid. Because we
can no longer plan based on the climate we used to have.”
 
Advocates say as we press for more clean energy, communities need to
prepare for the unexpected in the years to come. 
 
“People in Ohio are witnessing the impacts of erratic winter weather,”
said Jim Wentz, a life-long member of the League of Ohio Sportsmen and
chairman of the orgnization’s climate and energy committee. “Ice fishing
seasons are shorter. Small businesses are going under. Climate change is
altering the cultural identity of the region. It’s time to step up to
the plate to confront this problem.”
 
Added Bob Barr, Research Scientist, Center for Earth and Environmental
Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis: “Midwestern
states, including Indiana, will face challenges stemming from erratic
winters caused by climate change. Problems like agricultural run-off and
urban storm water will only be exacerbated by the increasing rain and
storm events that accompany a warming climate.”
 
>From coast to coast, the report details recent oddball winter weather
events in regions that are expected to see more of the same if global
warming pollution continues unabated.  
 
“There is not a single season that is immune to the impacts of global
warming,” said Melinda Koslow, regional campaign manager at the National
Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center in Ann Arbor. “This
report showcases the issues of the most overlooked of seasons —
winter.”
 
Important steps to reduce the risks include curbing global warming
pollution to minimize future oddball winter weather, accounting for
greater variability in snow removal and flood management programs, and
safeguarding wildlife, fish and habitats from more unpredictable winter
weather.
 
The full report is posted at the NWF website at
www.nwf.org/extremeweather. 
 
Immediate Release: 
January 28, 2010
 
Contacts: 
Danielle Korpalski, (734) 887-7138, email: korpalskid at nwf.org 
Jordan Lubetkin, (734) 887-7109, email: Lubetkin at nwf.org 
 
 
Jordan Lubetkin - Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation
Great Lakes Regional Center
213 W. Liberty St., Suite 200
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1398
www.nwf.org/greatlakes 
www.healthylakes.org ( http://www.healthylakes.org/ )

Phone: (734) 887-7109 
Cell: (734) 904-1589

Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
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