Our Changing Planet: the U.s. Global Change Research Program for Fiscal Year 2014

Publisher Marketing: "Our Changing Planet: The U. S. Global Change Research Program for Fiscal Year 2014" summarizes USGCRP's significant progress toward achieving its strategic goals, supporting the President's Climate Action Plan, and building a knowledge base that effectively informs human responses to global change. . The U. S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates scientific research across 13 Federal departments and agencies whose missions include understanding changes in the global environment and their implications for society. In accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (GCRA), the enclosed report summarizes USGCRP's recent achievements, current status, future priorities, and FY 2014 budget information. In June 2013, the President released his Climate Action Plan, laying out the case for action on climate change and the steps his Administration will take to address it, and drawing attention to USGCRP's important role in informing this process. In this new edition of Our Changing Planet, USGCRP will illustrate how accomplishments and investments that support its 2012-2021 Strategic Plan-as well as the President's Climate Action Plan-build upon current strengths in integrated observations, research, modeling, and information services to serve societal needs. A brief exploration of the essential research infrastructure of USGCRP will lead into highlighted examples of key societally relevant program focus areas. Sample cases-such as extreme weather and climate events, rising sea levels and melting ice, and climate-change impacts on human health-will exemplify the end-to-end nature of USGCRP that progresses from research to sustained assessment, education, communication, and decision support. This approach fully addresses the GCRA mandate to "understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change."