A report issued last week on the effects of global warming on storms and flooding is drawing attention in many at-risk areas.

Among the communities taking special notice of the report are Northeast Ohio, which recently experienced record storms and floods; Eastern North Dakota, which has seen the benefits of smart flood planning methods advocated by Dr. Amanda Staudt, author of the report; New England, which has endured abnormally heavy rain in recent months; Northwest Indiana, which is at an increased risk of flooding due to global warming; and Virginia, which has experienced starkly contrasting dry and wet weather periods in the last year.

“Global warming is partly to blame for these heavy rainfall events,” said Dr. Staudt. “Warmer air simply can hold more moisture, so heavier precipitation is expected in the years to come.”

America’s over-reliance on levees and other strategies for taming rivers; communities that are on the frontlines; and what must be done to confront the realities of global warming.The report focuses on how global warming has caused more heavy rainfall events;

The United States is seeing more heavy storms and major floods, and it seems global warming is partly to blame.

The National Wildlife Federation is set to release “Increased Flooding Risk: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for Riverfront Communities,” a report detailing how global warming is causing more heavy rainfall events even as America’s over-reliance on levees and other old strategies for taming rivers sidesteps flooding issues. The report offers a new course of action for confronting the realities of global warming and shielding flood-prone communities from the consequences of unnaturally heavy rainfall.

Perspectives will be provided regarding the latest scientific research on global warming and flooding, the national flood insurance program, and recommendations for how to cope with projected changes and how to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.

More than 100 conservation leaders from around the country met in New Orleans last week to push for the restoration of iconic U.S. waters such as the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Louisiana, Florida Everglades, Great Lakes, Gulf of Maine, Long Island Sound, Puget Sound, and others.

“Restoring American’s great waters will benefit the country’s economy and environment—and will be vital in addressing the impacts of global warming,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, the host of the summit.

Five nations that created a treaty almost four decades ago to protect polar bears have issued a joint statement identifying global warming as “the most important long-term threat” to the bears.

The statement was released at the end of a meeting held in Norway, with scientists and officials attending from the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark, representing Greenland. All nations have territory that abuts the Arctic Ocean, which is prime polar bear habitat.

Experts at the meeting said the parties were committed to collaboration on programs aimed at limiting direct threats to bear populations from increasing tourism, shipping and oil and gas drilling in the warming region, The New York Times reports.

Bear experts said that the five nations who cosigned the 1973 agreement on the conservation of polar bears need worldwide cooperation to address greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

It is estimated that there are currently 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears worldwide.

National Wildlife Federation President & CEO Larry Schweiger presented Gov. Charlie Crist last week with NWF's Conservation Achievement Award for Government. Gov. Crist has helped position Florida as a leader in addressing climate change and protecting the environment.

“We must take action in our lifetime to protect Florida’s treasures—from the Everglades and the white-sand beaches to the crystal clear springs—so that future generations can experience the Florida we love,” said d Governor Crist. “I am honored to be an advocate for Florida’s environment, and I am committed to continuing the work we have done over the past two years to keep the Sunshine State beautiful.”

Schweiger presented Governor Crist with the award during a March 10 luncheon. The award recognizes Governor Crist for his leadership in environmental conservation, including his role in encouraging the South Florida Water Management District’s recent approval of the historic land purchase deal, in which the district will buy 180,000 acres of land to clean, store and move water going into Everglades National Park. NWF leaders also lauded Governor Crist’s commitment to reducing Florida’s greenhouse gases and increasing energy efficiency.

“With political courage and unmatched resolve, Governor Crist has single-handedly positioned Florida as a leader in the fight against global warming,” said Schweiger. “It is an honor to recognize him with NWF’s Conservation Achievement Award for Government.”

Gov. Crist drew some attention for comments he made as he accepted the award, saying of the push for a new clean energy economy that "There are many in my party that haven't come to."

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Oceana recently released two related reports on the worsening condition of the global fishing industry due to over-fishing and climate change.

Direct employment and jobs in related industries are important for developing nations—revenues from their fisheries exports earn have reached $24.6 billion annually.

Fishing-reliant communities in the developing world are extremely vulnerable to the effects of global warming, and authorities must do more to understand and prepare for the impacts, the reports warned.

Global warming and pollution have already modified the distribution of fish species. Sea-level rise, ocean acidification and changes in precipitation significantly affect wetlands, coral reefs and estuaries. Warmer water fish species are pushed toward the poles and are experiencing changes in habitat size and productivity.

Any decrease in the local availability of fish or increases in population instability pose serious problems for communities that are reliant on fisheries.

An estimated 43.5 million people are directly involved in capture fisheries and aquaculture, most of whom live in Asia.

Last week more than 120 citizen activists representing all eight Great Lakes states arrived in Washington, DC for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition fly-in. After discussing upcoming legislative issues such as a cap-and-invest bill that would dedicate revenues to restoration, ballast water regulation, and the urgent need for toxic sediment cleanup, participants heard from two representatives of the new administration. In their addresses to participants, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Council on Environmental Quality Director Nancy Sutley reaffirmed President Obama’s commitment to the Great Lakes and to all of America's "Great Waters."

As Coalition members convened on Capitol Hill and visited the Great Lakes Congressional delegation, good news filtered from the White House and was confirmed with the release of the President’s budget. President Obama included $475 million dollars in new Great Lakes restoration funding—marking the largest Presidential commitment to the lakes' in history.  The budget also dedicated $3.9 billion to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs of which more than $1 billion could flow to the Great Lakes.

At the same time, the Teaming With Wildlife coalition went to Capitol Hill to ask members of Congress for immediate action on global warming. 100 coalition members from more than 30 states called for a comprehensive climate bill with dedicated funding to protect our natural resources. Other top priorities include the passage of the Teaming With Wildlife Act and funding for fiscal year 09/10 State Wildlife Grant appropriations.

At an evening reception on the Hill, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D–TX) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) were among those honored for their work protecting wildlife from global warming. Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of NWF, challenged Congress to make the most of the opportunities presented by a new political and economic landscape, urging the creation of green jobs based on clean energy and a healthy environment.

The governors or Maryland and Oregon announced this month bold steps toward curbing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

Under a new program supported by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Oregon would have one of the world's toughest greenhouse gas limits, affecting everything from industry smokestacks to car tailpipes.

Kulongoski said action to limit carbon dioxide emissions in Oregon could lead to a new, more robust economy based on environmentally friendly energy, transportation and housing.

In a similar step in the right direction, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said that his state is also poised to help shape national environmental policy by passing legislation to curb pollutants linked to global warming.

At a news conference on the lawn of the governor's mansion, Gov. O'Malley called Maryland, with its abundant shoreline, the "fourth-most-vulnerable state in America" with respect to global warming.

If global warming continues unabated, projected rising sea levels will significantly reshape the region's coastal landscape, threatening waterfowl hunting and recreational saltwater fishing in Virginia and Maryland.

National Wildlife Federation’s recent report, Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Habitats of the Chesapeake Bay, which shows in detail the dramatic effects of sea-level rise on the nation's largest estuary, which sustains more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals including great blue herons and sea turtles.

Visit http://www.nwf.org/sealevelrise/chesapeake.cfm to view the full report.

California, the nation's leading agricultural producer, may be hit particularly hard by the effects of climate change and drought, with dire consequences on the industry and our food supplies, a top Obama official said recently.

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said that California's farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming. The Nobel-prize-winning physicist warned of detrimental water shortages in the western United States with particularly dire results in California.

California is experiencing the worst water crisis in the state's history. “We're definitely in really bad shape,” said Elissa Lynn, chief meteorologist with the California Department of Water Resources. “People can expect to pay higher prices for produce ...We just don't have enough water.”

A recent University of California study estimates that 60,000 agricultural jobs and more than $1.6 billion in agriculture wages will be lost due to the drought. The study did not account for the loss in farm income, according to a new letter from congressmen to Governor Schwarzenegger.

“I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. “We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California.”

Warmer temperatures, different patterns of precipitation and runoff, and rising sea levels will profoundly affect the state’s ability to manage water supplies and other natural resources, according to the California Department of Water Resources. 

A consortium of groups joined forces to put the brakes on Bush-era regulations and land management plans to fast-track development of oil shale, a dirty fossil fuel that threatens water resources, communities and wildlife in the West.  Oil shale development would also contribute to climate change.

The groups filed two suits in U.S. District Court for Colorado alleging that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Bush administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act in drafting regulations for a commercial oil shale program without, by their own admission, having sufficient information on the environmental impacts.

Craig Thompson, chair-elect of the National Wildlife Federation board of directors and a former oil shale worker states, “What the rush for oil shale development will bring is an impoverished landscape in which scarce water and stressed wildlife are pushed past the brink,” adding “Why the rush now, despite objections from Governors Freudenthal and Ritter, along with Senators Ken Salazar and Mark Udall?”

The suit also charges that the BLM violated federal procedure by amending 12 resource management plans in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming to allow oil shale and tar sands development on nearly two and one half million acres of land without the opportunity normally afforded the public to file an administrative appeal, or “protest,” of the decision. Furthermore, the Bush administration failed to ensure that taxpayers receive a fair return from oil shale lease royalties, in violation of Federal Lands Policy Management Act and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.      

Producing a liquid fuel from oil shale entails heating solid rock to temperatures in excess or 600°F to liquefy the kerogen inside for conversion into synthetic petroleum fuels.  Because of the large amounts of energy needed to heat and process oil shale, as many as 10 new coal power plants might be needed in the West, leading to increased emissions of greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change.

The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Native Ecosystems, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, National Wildlife Federation, Red Rock Forests, Sierra Club, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Western Colorado Congress, Western Resource Advocates, The Wilderness Society and Wilderness Workshop filed the suits.