Impacts on quality-of-life

We're losing our identity.


Our state tree is the hemlock. Fish is the brook trout. Bird is the ruffed grouse. Drink is milk. Climate change is harming all of them.

Our winters are four degrees warmer than they were in 1970.


That doesn't sound like a big deal until it occurs to you that the difference between 36 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit (or 35 and 31, 34 and 30, 33 and 29) is rain instead of snow. If you want to ski, snowboard, ice skate, go ice fishing, hunt or make snow angels, those four degrees are crucial.

One day there may not be a trout season in Pennsylvania.


The EPA, National Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists predict our coldwater trout population could decline by up to 40 percent within about 40 years.

Why are trout so vulnerable to global warming? It's simple: the trout is a cold-water fish that thrives in streams with temperatures of 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit. In many areas of Pennsylvania fish already live in water temperatures at the upper end of their tolerance range so even slight warming could make streams uninhabitable for them. Our hemlock trees are also struggling in warmer temperatures. Their decline, and the shade they provide on these streams, will exacerbate the situation.

Bye bye, birdie, milk, grapes and apples.

Map of Pennsylvania, adapted from the Union of Concerned Scientists, that represents the potential declines in milk production during July by the end of the century.
We are already seeing changes in our native bird populations (decreasing while disease-carrying insect populations increase). Milk production is down in heat-stressed cows. Native apples and tart concord grapes are also suffering.

Global warming is a threat to security.


As streamflows and lake levels drop from droughts, groundwater could be reduced and the competition for drinking water could increase.

Rapid climate change could trigger wars over not only fresh water, but also over food, infrastructure and energy and could create thousands of refugees. We already saw the humanitarian crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina when our government was unable to maintain law and order and poorly coordinated rescue attempts and relief efforts.


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