Oct 5, 8:52 PM EDT
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Scientists Issue Damning Global Warming Report*

By LINDA A. JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Global warming could strain the Northeast's power
grid, farms, forests and marine fisheries by the next century unless
carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 3 percent each year, according
to a report released Wednesday.

The climate in the nine states - from New Jersey and Pennsylvania up to
Maine - could become like that of the South with longer, much hotter
summers and warmer winters with less snow, the report by the Union of
Concerned Scientists said.

"This has enormous implications for human health. It puts a lot of
stress on the energy system. It could lead to blackouts," said Katherine
Hayhoe, an associate professor of geosciences at Texas Tech University
and a lead author of the two-year study.

If power plant and auto emissions of carbon dioxide - considered the
main culprit in global warming - continue unabated, average temperatures
in the Northeast could rise between 6.5 degrees and 12.5 degrees by the
end of the century, she said. A shift to cleaner, renewable energy
sources would cut that increase in half, she said.

The study said Boston could see its number of 90-degree-plus summer days
jump from one to 40 if no changes are made. New York City could have 70.

Doug Inkley, senior science adviser at the National Wildlife Federation,
said the report was done by top-tier scientists and backs up his group's
research showing a warmer climate in the Northeast will push out
temperature-sensitive species from sugar maple and northern pine trees
to songbirds and trout.

"This report is yet another wake-up call we cannot ignore," Inkley said.

The report targeted the Northeast because it is the world's
seventh-largest source of emissions, behind the U.S. as a whole and five
other nations, and because the region's leaders have taken steps to
reduce emissions and could spur efforts elsewhere.

Mike MacCracken of The Climate Institute, a former head of the
interagency group that did climate assessments under a Clinton-era
research program, called the report "a high-quality job" that gives
"pretty reliable indications of the amount of change."

John R. Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at
University of Alabama-Huntsville, said regional analyses he's done
indicate the latest climate models can't predict well for a region,
especially for rain and snow.

He said the report's recommendations - mostly centered on replacing or
upgrading buildings, cars and appliances with more energy-efficient ones
- won't have much effect on the total amount of carbon dioxide going
into the atmosphere, partly because energy demand will keep growing.

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On the Net:

Union of Concerned Scientists report: http://www.ucsusa.org