Global Warming in Maryland
Sea Level Rise Poses Greater Storm Threat - 07/21/08
Sea level rise related to global warming likely will inundate land, alter wetlands and devastate wildlife around the Chesapeake Bay region by the end of the century, according to a recent report by the National Wildlife Federation.
By the year 2100, a projected 2-foot rise would make the Pasadena peninsula extremely vulnerable to a damaging storm surger, said Patty Glick, National Wildlife Federation senior global warming specialist and lead author of the report.
"Tropical Storm Isabel was a wake-up call to the area, and it doesn't take much rise in the sea level to make the storm surge much worse," Ms. Glick said. "How many more feet of storm surge we could have really depends on the locality."
"We face the prospect of losing much of what we treasure about the bay its beaches, wildlife and prized fishing unless we prepare for the sea-level rise that our new modeling shows will happen," Ms. Glick said. "This analysis goes well beyond simple inundation modeling. It documents for the first time the many landscape and habitat changes that will occur along the entire bay coastline if global warming continues unchecked."
The lower end of the bay and Eastern Shore suffer the brunt of habitat changes. Huge areas of the Blackwater Wildlife Preserve could be largely under water. Iconic Smith and Tangier islands would disappear. More than 80 percent of the estuarine and ocean beaches on Virginia's Eastern Shore could be converted to open water.
Maryland has established a statewide Sea-level Rise Response Strategy, and Virginia has put together a Governor's Commission on Climate Change to study sea-level rise impacts on coastal areas and proposed strategies to deal with the inevitable event.
Global Warming to Increase Heat Related Deaths in Baltimore - 9/5/07
The annual death toll from extreme heat in Baltimore is expected to increase from 48 to 141, resulting in 2,232 additional heat-related deaths by mid-century as global warming drives up summertime temperatures, according to a new study. The report was released today by Environment Maryland and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, and was conducted by Applied Climatologists experts Dr. Laurence Kalkstein of the University of Miami and Dr. Scott Greene of the University of Oklahoma.
The study's examination of twenty-one U.S. cities found that 23,160 additional heat-related deaths would occur due to global warming-induced temperature increases. The average summer season would see a doubling of heat-related deaths, going from about 908 heat-related deaths per summer to almost 1,900 by mid-century.
"If global warming hasn't hit home for people yet, this analysis should be a wake-up call," said Environment Maryland State Director Brad Heavner. "Congress should follow the science and enact federal policy that cuts our global warming pollution to the levels that will prevent the worst effects of global warming."
The report uses two measures to show the likely changes. The first measure pinpoints the change in "increased mortality days," which are days that exceed a city's temperature threshold for excess mortality. In Baltimore, that heat threshold is 101 degrees. The city currently experiences 6 days above that threshold, on average, with the number expected to increase to 16 by mid-century.
The prolonged high temperatures of future heat waves will impact aging baby boomers the most, with young children, people with certain medical conditions, and people who work or exercise outdoors also being at elevated risk. In addition, the urban poor, many of whom do not have air conditioning and lack access to air-conditioned public places, are vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.
Maryland Global Warming Pollution Up 16% Since 1990 - 04/12/07
Global warming pollution in Maryland increased by 16% between 1990 and 2004, according to The Carbon Boom, a new analysis of state fossil fuel consumption data released today by the Environment Maryland. This is the first time that 2004 state-by-state data on carbon dioxide emissions have been released.
"Given the risks from global warming, it's incredibly irresponsible for Maryland's global warming pollution to increase. It's like the doctor telling you that you need to go on a serious diet, but instead you go straight for the ice cream," said Field Organizer Jennifer Bronder.
Environment Maryland's report comes less than a week after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. body charged with assessing the scientific record on global warming, released its consensus report on the current and projected impacts of global warming. The report warned of increasing droughts, floods, heat waves, water stress, forest fires, and coastal flooding in the United States but concluded that "many impacts can be avoided, reduced, or delayed" by quickly and significantly reducing global warming pollution.
"Global warming pollution is skyrocketing in Maryland just as scientists are sounding alarms that we must rapidly reduce pollution to protect future generations. This report is a wake-up call to cap pollution levels now before it is too late," said Bronder.
