GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM
GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM
w.epa.gov/ord
EPA/600/F-07/007 I June 2007 I www.epa.gov/ord
Research to Assess the
mpacts of GLOBAL CHANGE
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research and Development (8101R)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
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4>EPA
GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
is an active partner of a larger federal effort to
provide the best possible science to support public
discussion and decision-making on climate-related
issues. Researchers in EPA's Global Change Research
Program in the Office of Research and Development
are providing timely and useful information to
respond to a changing climate.
Developing Decision Support Tools
Global change researchers worldwide are studying changes
to the Earth that are impacting the environment and humans
such as climate variation, land-use activities, and other
stressors. EPA's Global Change Research Program is
making contributions by assessing the impacts of global
change (particularly climate variability and change) on air
and water quality, ecosystems, and human health in the
United States, and then investigating adaptation options.
The multidisciplinary program integrates information from
the physical, biological, and social sciences to develop
decision support tools for resource managers and decision
makers. The tools are used to improve society's ability to
effectively respond to the environmental and public health
impacts of global change.
The program uses a place-based approach because the
impacts of global change and their solutions are often
unique to a location. Partnerships are established with
locally based decision makers to ensure that the program
is responsive to their unique scientific information needs
and the socioeconomic realities at their locales.
Making a Difference
The Global Change Research Program is evaluated
through extensive review by EPA's independent Board of
Scientific Counselors (BOSC). A review in 2006 by the
BOSC concluded that the program has conducted the
"right work" and done it "well." The program's earlier
emphases on regional assessment of the consequences of
global change and involvement of stakeholders are deemed
pioneering. The program has improved understanding of
global change and ways to adapt to it.
The program closely coordinates with the U.S. Climate
Change Science Program. EPA and the other 12
participating agencies address key scientific questions
about the effects of global change, and develop and
provide timely, useful, and scientifically sound information
to decision makers.
"The program has provided substantial benefits to the nation and ... is on
course to make significant further contributions to societal outcomes."
Success Stories
EPA's Global Change Research Program has
improved understanding of global change and delivered
decision support tools to enable resource managers to
consider the impacts of global change when making
decisions to protect the environment and public health.
DEVELOPING TOOLS FOR WATER RESOURCE MANAGERS
The program developed a Climate Assessment Tool to help
water resource managers address the high sensitivity of water
resources and aquatic ecosystems to changes in climate.
This tool is incorporated into EPA's watershed management
program, BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating
Point and Nonpoint Sources). The tool allows managers to
meet future demands for water and water quality regulations
by considering changes in the risk of floods and droughts,
river channel stability, water quality, and wildlife habitats
due to climate change.
PREVENTING COMBINED SEWER SYSTEM OVERFLOWS
Aging Combined Sewer Systems in the United States are being
redesigned to comply with EPA's Combined Sewer Overflow
Control Policy. These systems collect and co-treat storm water
and municipal water, and are designed to overflow directly to
surface waters when their design capacity is exceeded. Intense
storms can cause combined sewer systems to exceed their
capacity and result in the discharge of untreated storm and
waste water into streams. Climate change is already leading
to an increase in the number of intense rainfall events. The
program has demonstrated that redesigned systems might
not satisfy EPA's control policies if they are rebuilt without
considering climate change. The program has shown that the
risks are manageable. It is possible to anticipate the effects of
climate change on these systems and to adapt their new designs
to increase their effectiveness.
ASSESSING IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
EPA's Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) program allocates
pollutant loads to water bodies. The research program has shown
that climate change could lead to more intense precipitation
events that could increase runoff, alter stream flow, and lead to
higher annual costs at publicly owned treatment works in the
Great Lakes region.
Board of Scientific Counselors Review, March 27, 2006
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
PROTECTING DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS FROM SEA LEVEL RISE
Drinking water systems that derive their supplies from surface
water and groundwater will be put at risk in varying degrees
and in different ways from rising sea levels. Several million
people are served by coastal surface water systems that are
unprotected from sea level rise. However, the research
program has shown that only five surface water systems
serving over 100,000 people are at high risk of salt water
intrusion. The greater risk from salt water is faced by coastal
systems that derive their supplies from groundwater. For
example, the program has identified the groundwater supplies
in Florida that are vulnerable to sea level rise.
ASSESSING IMPACTS ON AIR QUALITY
The research program is assessing the effects of global change
on air quality across the United States. The initial assessment
of the effects of climate change on air quality will be completed
by September 2007. The long-term goal is to provide air quality
managers and decision makers with the scientific information
and models they need to protect air quality from the impacts of
global change. This assessment is unique among federal agencies.
PROTECTING CORAL REEFS
The health and survival of the world's coral reefs are at risk
because of climate change, pollution, UV radiation, and overfish-
ing. The Global Program partnered with the U.S. Coral Reef Task
Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to publish
A Reef Manager's Guide to Coral Bleaching. The guide is used
by resource managers to protect these critical ecosystems.
The program assesses the potential consequences of global change,
particularly climate variability and change on air and water quality,
ecosystems, and human health.
PREVENTING HANTAVIRUS PULMONARY SYNDROME
The assessments done by EPA's Global Change Research
Program have led to on-the-ground interventions to prevent
disease and protect the public's health. In partnership
with The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public
Health, the program discovered that the 1993 outbreak of
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in the Southwestern
United States was due to increased rodent populations
caused by unusual weather associated with the El Nino
Southern Oscillation event of 1991-92. The program found
that high-risk areas for the disease can be predicted over six
months in advance with the use of satellite-generated maps
of climate-sensitive land cover. This led to the development
of risk maps in partnership with the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the Indian Health Service. The
maps are being used for disease prevention in the Southwest
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
PARTNERING WITH THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
The research program supports efforts by the World Health
Organization (WHO) to develop strategies for responding
to the health risks posed by climate change. In 2003,
with support from EPA's Global Change Research Program,
WHO published the book Climate Change and Human
Health: Risks and Responses. EPA scientists co-authored
three chapters and one scientist served as an editor. This
collaboration also led to the research program's participation
in the writing of the Synthesis Report for the Health Sector,
which was prepared as part of the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment. The assessment involved more than 1,360
experts worldwide to provide a state-of-the-art scientific
appraisal of the condition and trends in the world's
ecosystems and the services they provide.
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