{"id":4414,"date":"2011-06-28T06:02:49","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T10:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=4414"},"modified":"2011-08-09T15:15:01","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T19:15:01","slug":"morning-read-climate-change-coming-to-a-road-near-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2011\/06\/28\/morning-read-climate-change-coming-to-a-road-near-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Read: Climate change coming to a road near you"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been meaning to link to Jon Alexander’s story about climate change and road construction in the Glens Falls Post Star<\/a> for several days now.\u00a0 It makes for a fascinating read — again, going beyond the “ifs” to the “what nows?”<\/p>\n

[T]he Highway Administration’s own data, driven by concerns of how the warming trend will impact U.S. infrastructure, acknowledges the changing ecological landscape. According to a 2009 Highway Administration study, the amount of annual rainfall in the U.S. increased by 6 percent during the 20th century. Global sea levels rose by 6.7 inches during that time period. While the Earth’s temperatures have been in a constant state of gradual flux for 4 billion years, the sudden temperature swings have scientists concerned.<\/p>\n

“Floods and erosion can completely and abruptly shut down a road. In contrast, an increase in the frequency and severity of extremely high temperatures can lead to pavement deterioration and rutting,” the study notes. “It is also important to note that not all climate change impacts are negative. In some areas, climate change could reduce the frequency, duration, and\/or severity of some cold-weather extremes, for example.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, NCPR Natural Selections host Curt Stager is writing this week in the Albany Times Union<\/a> about flooding on Lake Champlain, asking Is this the new normal?<\/p>\n

[E]ven if the recent extreme conditions aren’t necessarily a direct consequence of global warming, they illustrate predictions of the future well enough to offer an important “teachable moment,” especially for those of us who have gone numb over the contentious issue of global warming. Climate change isn’t just about polar bears. Look around you here and now, after the soggy spring of 2011, and you’ll see that it’s about us,\u00a0too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you’re interested in discussing and debating climate change, Stager — whose new book is called Deep Future<\/a> — will be giving at talk at the Northwoods Inn in Lake Placid on July 9th at 7pm.<\/div>\n
Or you can do it the new-fashioned way by commenting below.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been meaning to link to Jon Alexander’s story about climate change and road construction […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4797,884],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4414"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4414"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4590,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4414\/revisions\/4590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}