Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists. The report released Monday is the first national assessment of how global warming might affect the country during the next century. It projects an average temperature rise of 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly higher than global predictions. The change ought to have little impact on the U.S. economy as a whole, but some communities, such as coastal areas, and some businesses, such as maple-sugar producers and ski resorts, will have a rough time of it. Drought is expected to be a growing concern in every part of the country.
Floods are increasingly possible in some regions.
Extensive damage to some ecosystems. Rising sea levels in coastal areas. Coastal communities may be at greater risk for storm surges. More heat waves. Thriving Northwest forests.