Climate Change blog 2. Vulnerability.

The US Climate Action report 2010, Fifth National Communication of the US under United Nations framework convention on climate change is much more informative. When accessing GHG, climate change and measures being taken to deter climate change it is best that you look to the National Communication reports because of the complexity and thoroughness. The Global Adaptation Index (GAIN) gives you a very brief summary of the country’s vulnerability to climate change. It profiles each country with a vulnerability score. The United States is in the lower right quadrant of the readiness matrix. It asserts that the United States is the 16th least vulnerable country and the 7th most ready country. This page is informative as it gives you fast facts but is not nearly as detailed as the National Communication report that outlines the circumstances, the GHG inventory with background information, policies, measures, projected future emissions, financial resources, technology transfer, research and systematic observation, education and then of course a vulnerability assessment that in more details outlines the impacts and the adaptation methods that are being implemented. The National Communication report presents the numbers that GAIN found but goes further into detail as to the who, what, where, when, how and what now. The middle man to both reports is the DARA Impact Matters assessment. It is more complex then GAIN yet not as comprehensive as the national accounts. Navigating the website also posed a challenge. When you search for your country in the climate vulnerability section you are led to articles ranging from journals, reports and personal opinions. It only accesses economic stress, habitat loss, and weather disaster and health impacts. GAIN breaks down each category into subcategories. For instance water is accessed for precipitation change, temperature change, improved sanitation facilities, water access, water disease and water use. I think Drain is more focused on developing countries because that is what is dominating the website in terms of reports, opinions and reports. I think GAIN is an excellent website for fast facts. If you want to know in detail the state of a country you should read the 400-page national communication report. It is more comprehensive; it gives you a bigger picture of what is going on. If you want to have personal opinions injected into your facts then Drain is a valuable website. I will use GAIN in the future and always rely on the full national communications report when accessing the climate vulnerability of the USA.

Comments Off on Climate Change blog 2. Vulnerability. / 02 Feb 2012 por Lauren Musiello
IMSD /

Comentarios cerrados.