South Dakota

Press Release

Scientific report confirms global warming impacts we see today could be the tip of the iceberg
Congress must enact solutions now to avoid catastrophic impacts

April 6, 2007

Sioux Falls, SD—Today the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its second report this year that details the current and projected impacts of global warming. The Summary for Policy Makers of the Second Working Group report, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, emphasizes that global warming is already having far reaching effects world wide and documen ts specific regional impacts that can be expected if temperatures continue to rise. Analysis from the National Environmental Trust (NET) indicates South Dakota's recent temperature trends are consistent with the global increase in temperatures.

The IPCC report indicates that as temperatures rise, the impacts of global warming get more severe. The attached chart, based on the IPCC report findings, shows that with just 1 degree Fahrenheit of warming, the earth will experience more wildfires, coral bleaching, flooding and storm damage. More than 5 degrees Fahrenheit will result in up to 3.2 billion people facing water shortages, 20% of the global population affected by flooding and 3-8 times more heat waves in some cities.

"In the Dakotas one of the things we can expect is essentially a drying up of the prairie pothole region to include the western halves of both Dakotas, Montana, the Southern Canadian provinces. And if in fact that happens, and all the hand writing appears to be on the wall, we're going to see our duck populations plummet," said Tony Dean in a recent inte rview with the Greater Dakota News Service. Dean went on to point out that proposed global warming solutions do not have to be viewed as a negative - that they can indeed create economic opportunity. "I don't know of any effort to clean up the environment that's done anything but create more jobs and create new niches that have to be filled," Dean concluded.

The IPCC Assessment Reports are considered the gold-standard of what the world's scientists currently know about climate change. The reports are by their nature conservative since they are a synthesis of studies that have already received rigorous peer review. In this fourth assessment, which leaves out scientific findings which were published after December 2005, scientists point to strong evidence that more smog-related deaths, water scarcity for billions of people, and wildfires will be more likely with increased warming.

"More than any other state, we are in a position to lead the way in reducing America's contribution to global warming pollution," said Mary Jo Stueve, State Program Coordinator with Clean Water Action South Dakota. "We want to be part of the solution and not the problem." Stueve went on to say that although South Dakota has already passed new coal tax breaks and approved the building of coal-fired Big Stone II, there is still time to rethink options and channel those investments to capitalize on clean, renewable, ‘carbon dioxide free' wind resources in South Dakota. "We need to produce and use energy wisely in ways that provide health, environmental and economic security," she said.

Overall, the IPCC report will include more than 2,500 scientists appointed by the more than 130 countries.

To find and download the full IPCC report.

A teleconference will be held to discuss global warming's impact on ducks and other waterfowl in the Upper Midwest:

  • WHAT: Teleconference to discuss climate change, wetlands and waterfowl populations
  • WHO: W. Carter Johnson, PhD, Ecologist at South Dakota State University and author of the 2005 report, "Vulnerability of Northern Prairie Wetlands to Climate Change." Dave Zentner, past National President, Izaak Walton League
  • WHEN: Friday, April 6, 2007 at 2:00pm CST

Contact:
Mary Jo Stueve, State Program Coordinator
South Dakota Clean Water Action
(W) 605-978-9196
(H) 605-332-3667
(C) 612-619-1648
mjstueve@cleanwater.org