A total of 50 scientists, researchers, and experts in New Hampshire have signed onto a letter urging all candidates for public office to accept the reality of climate change, take action to curb global warming pollution, and develop climate preparedness strategies for the state and local communities. 

Among them, Green Alliance Environmental Advisory Board member Cameron Wake, Director of Carbon Solutions New England and Associate Research Professor at the University of New Hampshire’s Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space. He'll be speaking about economic development and climate change at the Rye Public Library on January 31, 2011 at 7:00 PM.

Below is the text of the letter, which has been covered by the New York Times and The Hill:

Back in 1876, Mark Twain aptly remarked “One of the brightest gems in the New England weather is the dazzling uncertainty of it.” Our location halfway between the equator and the North Pole and sandwiched between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean makes our weather more variable than most other places on Earth.

New Hampshire’s culture, environment, and economy are fundamentally integrated with our seasonal climate that traditionally and reliably served up resplendent summers, crisp autumns with spectacular fall foliage, a white Christmas and winter sports, and the eternal hope of spring. Our citizens have adapted to changing economic and climatic conditions to keep New Hampshire consistently ranked near or at the top as a state with the best quality of life (1).

New Hampshire’s climate has experienced substantial changes over the past half century (2). Over this period, the northeastern United States has experienced a region-wide winter warming trend of almost 4 degrees Fahrenheit. The number of days with snow on the ground has decreased an average of one week. Pond hockey and ice fishing have taken a hit as ice breaks up on our lakes more than a week earlier than it used to. Peak snowmelt runoff in the spring now occurs 7–10 days earlier in northern New England rivers. Increasing extreme rainfall events and flooding, rising seas, and an influx of pests (Lyme-disease-bearing ticks at the top of the list) have emerged as the latest and potentially most serious challenges to our health and our quality of life.

We have also endured a significant increase in severe storms. This has resulted in flooding and power outages across the region, including major events in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011. From 1986 to 2004, presidentially declared disasters in the state of New Hampshire cost the federal government on average $3.5 million per year; from 2005 to 2008, they cost an average of $25 million per year (3). In addition, power outages that used to last a day or two now commonly extend over a week or two. Perhaps the most insidious change has been relative sea level, which has risen seven inches during the past century. This means more coastal flooding as storms move onshore, especially when a nor’easter occurs at high tide.

These shifts in New Hampshire’s climate are clearly connected to changes in global climate.

Unfortunately much of the change is accelerating. Given the inertia of the climate system, the most we can do now is decrease the rate of climate change. As the global climate continues to evolve, we will face new challenges to maintain our health, the prosperity of our state, and our quality of life. The US National Academy of Sciences together with all major scientific societies has affirmed that most of the observed increase in global temperatures over the past six decades is due to increases in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In its recent Quadrennial Defense Review the Pentagon stated that “climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked.” (4)

We urge all candidates for public office at national, state, and local levels, and all New Hampshire citizens, to acknowledge the overwhelming balance of evidence for the underlying causes of climate change, to support appropriate responses to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, and to develop local and statewide strategies to adapt to near-term changes in climate5. Ignoring the issue of climate change places our health, our quality of life, our economic vitality, and our children’s future at risk.

(1) Data from CNBC surveys: http://www.cnbc.com/id/43344770

(2) Additional information at Carbon Solutions New England: http://carbonsolutionsne.org/

(3) Values in 2009 dollars

(4) US Department of Defense: http://www.defense.gov/qdr/

(5) Details of mitigation and adaptation options provided in NH’s Climate Action Plan: http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/air/tsb/tps/climate/action_plan/nh_climate_action_plan.htm  

Signed, 

Heidi Asbjornsen, Ph.D., Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire

Semra Aytur, Ph.D., Department of Health Management and Policy, University of New Hampshire

Tom Ballestero, Ph.D., Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Hampshire

Mimi Becker, Ph.D, Department of Natural Resources & the Environment, University of New Hampshire

Jeffrey Bolster, Ph.D., Department of History, University of New Hampshire 

Julie Bryce, Ph.D., Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Elizabeth Burakowski, Ph.D. Candidate, Natural Resources and Earth System Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Rosemarie Came, Ph.D., Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Janet Campbell, Ph.D., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (Emeritus), University of New Hampshire 

Benjamin Chandran, Ph.D., Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire

Vaughn Cooper, Ph.D., Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Matthew Davis, Ph.D., Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Ellen Douglas, Ph.D., Hydrologist, Portsmouth, NH

Robert Eckert, Ph.D., Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire

Serita Frey, Ph.D., Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire

Steve Frolking, Ph.D., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire

Kevin Gardner, Ph.D., Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Hampshire

Filson H. Glanz, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Emeritus), University of New Hampshire

John Halstead, Ph.D., Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire

Lawrence Hamilton, Ph.D., Department of Social Science, University of New Hampshire

Richard Howarth, Ph.D., Environmental Studies Program, Dartmouth College

Stephen Jones, Ph.D., Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire

Linda Kalnejais, Ph.D., Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire.

Tom Kelly, Ph.D., Sustainability Academy, University of New Hampshire

Eric Kelsey, Ph.D. Candidate, Natural Resources and Earth System Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Paul Kirsehn, Ph.D., Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Hampshire

Ray Konisky, Ph.D., Newfields, NH

Richard Lammers, Ph.D., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire

William Leavenworth, Ph.D., Marine Historical Ecologist, University of New Hampshire

Anne Lightbody, Ph.D., Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire

James Malley, Jr., Ph.D., Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Hampshire

William McDowell, Ph.D., Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire

Robert McLellan, MD, MPH, The Jordan Institute 

Shelley Mitchell, Ph.D. Candidate, Natural Resources and Earth System Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Samuel Miller, Ph.D., Department of Atmospheric Science & Chemistry, Plymouth State University

Carolyn Murray, MD, MPH, Dartmouth Medical School

Philip Nuss, Ph.D. Candidate, Natural Resources and Earth System Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Scott Ollinger, Ph.D., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire

Erich Osterberg, Ph.D., Department of Earth Science, Dartmouth College

Tad Pfeffer, Ph.D., Randolph, NH 

James Pringle, Ph.D., Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire

Barrett Rock, Ph.D., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire

Shannon Rogers, Ph.D., University of New Hampshire

John Slater, Ph.D., School of Arts & Sciences, Southern New Hampshire University

Derek Sowers, M.Sc., Piscataqua Regions Estuaries Project 

Jeannie Sowers, Ph.D., Department of Political Science, University of New Hampshire

Stacy VanDeveer, Ph.D., Department of Political Science, University of New Hampshire

Cameron Wake, Ph.D., Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire

Alison Watts, Ph.D., Environmental Research Group, University of New Hampshire

Robert Woodward, Ph.D., Department of Health Management and Policy, University of New Hampshire