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Climate Change in the United States

U.S. Climate Profile (1/16)

The United States is at once the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and home to many environmentalists, scientists, and politicians who are trying to fight global warming. Slowly, U.S. public opinion is changing. Polls show that a majority of Americans now think that they are seeing the effects of global warming, and that solutions such as renewable energy are necessary.

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Climate Change in the United States

Hurricane Katrina (2/16)

A satellite image showing Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 as the storm's outer bands lashed the Gulf Coast one day before landfall. Katrina killed more than 1,500 people in four states and flooded 80 percent of New Orleans. Scientists have observed an upswing in the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes since the mid-20th century, which the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says is likely the result of warming ocean waters. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

In the Wake of the Disaster (3/16)

Neighborhoods in New Orleans are flooded with oil and water two weeks after Hurricane Katrina passed the city in September 2005. The disaster displaced 500,000 and caused an estimated 150 billion dollars in damages. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Flooding (4/16)

A cow stands on a flooded road in Cameron Prairie, 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Lake Charles, Louisiana. As the biggest hurricanes of the last decade – Mitch, Ivan, Rita, and Katrina – have reminded, the southeastern United States, particularly Florida and the Gulf Coast, is vulnerable to deadly and costly storms. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Drought (5/16)

A sign outside a car wash informs would-be customers that the facility is closed due to water shortages during a drought. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, with a warmer climate, droughts and floods could become more frequent, severe, and longer-lasting. The National Climate Data Center estimates that the great 1988 drought resulted in losses of 40 billion dollars. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Changing Climate - Changing Nature (6/16)

An Alaskan landscape covered with dead spruce trees after a major outbreak of spruce bark beetles. Greenpeace has linked the spread of the parasitic beetles, which are responsible for the destruction of millions of hectares of forests in southwestern Alaska, to global warming. According to the National Wildlife Federation, climate change will enable 48 percent of invasive plants and animals in the United States to move further north as temperatures rise. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Changing Growth Patterns (7/16)

Japanese Cherry Blossom trees bloom next to the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. The trees, according to the National Arbor Day Foundation, are blooming earlier than usual due to the effects of global warming. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Wildfires (8/16)

Local residents keep watch on a brush fire in Henderson, Nevada in March 2007. The fire swept through the county's desert Wetlands Park and grew to over 150 acres. Authorities in California say warming temperatures could increase the risk of large wildfires by over 50 percent by the end of the century. Each year, wildfires cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and state expenses. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Sea Level Increase (9/16)

The impact of global warming becomes visible in the Blackwater National Wildlife Preserve, where rising sea levels are rapidly destroying a precious marsh habitat. Located near the shores of Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, the preserve is slowly becoming immersed in water. These aerial photos show the Little Blackwater and Blackwater Rivers in 1957 (left) and in the 1980's (right). The U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) says that a two-foot rise in sea levels – a possibility according to the UN – would eliminate coastal land equivalent to the size of the state of Massachusetts by the end of the century. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Climate Advocates (10/16)

During their time in office, President Bill Clinton and his Vice-President Al Gore failed to convince the U.S. Senate to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. After leaving office, they became well-known advocates for strong U.S. action against global warming. Gore's Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth made millions of people aware of the urgency of climate change. Clinton's Global Initiative funds environmental projects all over the world. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Kyoto Protocol to Reduce CO₂-Emissions (11/16)

A message from National Global Warming Coalition activists David Merrill (left) and Alex Davidson to then U.S. President George W. Bush. The protesters urged Bush to sign the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 international treaty to address global warming through limiting greenhouse gas emissions. While former President Bill Clinton signed the treaty, the U.S. Senate never ratified it. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Attitude Change (12/16)

President of BP Exploration (Alaska) Steve Marshall holds up a photograph of an oil spill during a Senate hearing in Washington in September 2006. BP promised to conduct safety tests and seek government permission to restart part of the eastern Prudhoe Bay oil field pipeline in Alaska that was shut due to corrosion. Other companies recently convened at the Global Roundtable on Climate Change to demand mandatory caps on carbon dioxide emissions. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Permafrost (13/16)

Oil pipelines are constructed to run under Alaska's Colville River. The pipelines rest on permafrost soil. With rising temperatures, their foundations are prone to instability causing oil leaks. Melting permafrost will also force native people in the northern state to change their traditional lifestyles. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Biofuels (14/16)

Former U.S. President George W. Bush smells a bottle of ethanol as he tours Novozymes North America Inc. Bush proposed action to improve energy efficiency and independence. One of these policies was promoting wider use of biofuels. The Renewable Fuel Standard under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that a minimum of four billion gallons of renewable fuel must be used in the United States from 2006 on. Biofuels, however, are facing criticism due to uncertainty about how more ethanol production would affect agriculture and the environment. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Oil and Gas Supply (15/16)

Thunder Horse, the world's largest semi-submersible platform, was tilting by 20 degrees after Hurricane Dennis hit the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes caused 10 billion dollars in insured losses during 2004-05, including 116 destroyed and 56 severely damaged oil platforms in the Gulf. (Photo: Reuters)

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Climate Change in the United States

Blackouts (16/16)

The New York City skyline seen at sunrise during the biggest North American power outage in history. A heat wave in August 2003 had triggered a massive blackout that affected large parts of the northeastern U.S. and Canada. Heat waves put pressure on power grids by increasing demand for energy-intensive air conditioning and refrigeration. The common result of an overtaxed grid is an electricity blackout. (Photo Reuters)

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United States Climate Change Profile
Part 6: “Particularly Vulnerable”

Clem Booth, Allianz Board Member, on how climate change will affect the insurance business in the United States.

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