91制片厂

91制片厂 professor Jennifer Jacobs was a lead author on the landmark released last week by 13 government agencies. Jacobs, a professor of , led the report鈥檚 , which found that climate change will diminish the ability of our nation鈥檚 transportation infrastructure 鈥� the backbone of economic activity 鈥� to perform reliably, safely and efficiently.

鈥淪ea level rise, coastal flooding, heavy rain and snow, heat, wildfires, freeze-thaw cycles: We know these are all changing in our changing climate,鈥� says Jacobs, co-director of the national organization and a leading expert on the effect of climate change on transportation infrastructure. 鈥淭hese impacts are taking a negative toll on our roads, bridges and even rail and air travel networks.鈥�

鈥淪ea level rise, coastal flooding, heavy rain and snow, heat, wildfires, freeze-thaw cycles: These impacts are taking a negative toll on our roads, bridges and even rail and air travel networks.鈥�

America鈥檚 transportation assets 鈥� roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, rail, ports and public transit 鈥� are particularly vulnerable to the climate change impacts of coastal flooding and sea level rise, heavy precipitation and heat. 鈥淧eople often don鈥檛 think about heat related to transportation, but so many of our systems break down in extreme heat,鈥� says Jacobs. 鈥淲e have railroads that are warping, planes that can鈥檛 take off or land, roads and bridges that are buckling, public transit systems that aren鈥檛 air conditioned.鈥�

The report also assesses and chronicles the vulnerability of America鈥檚 rural communities to climate-related disruptions. 鈥淭hat really pops out for me,鈥� says Jacobs, pointing out the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irene in Vermont as an example. 鈥淚n a lot of these small communities, you鈥檝e got one road in and one road out, and they don鈥檛 have the resources, either financial or personnel, to really be able to recover from extreme events. Years can go by before they鈥檙e fully recovered.鈥�

Jacobs began working on the National Climate Assessment two years ago, an all-volunteer process she calls 鈥渁 huge lift, but amazing.鈥� Now, she says, it鈥檚 time to put her scientific contributions, and those of more than 300 other experts, into action.

鈥淥ver the past four years we鈥檝e learned a tremendous amount about transportation vulnerability,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd yet we are still not acting to protect our assets from those vulnerabilities. That鈥檚 the current challenge.鈥�