Environment News

AS WE TOLD YOU FIRST THING THIS MORNING — WE HAVE NEW INFORMATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE RIGHT HERE IN MAINE. AN ANNUAL REVIEWBY THE “GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE” SHOWS OUR COASTAL WATERS REMAIN WELL ABOVE AVERAGE. PHIL HIRSCHKORN SPOKE TO THE STUDY’S LEAD SCIENTIST FOR THIS “FORECASTING OUR FUTURE” REPORT. (VO 1) TODAY’S REPORT SHOWS 2022 WAS THE SECOND WARMEST YEAR EVER RECORDED IN THE GULF OF MAINE, 36- THOUSAND SQUARE MILES OF WATER STRETCHING FROM MASSACHUSETTS TO CANADA. (GFX) THE AVERAGE SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE WAS 53.66 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, WHICH WAS 3.72 DEGREES ABOVE THE LONG-TERM AVERAGE…JUST 4- TENTHS OF A DEGREE BELOW THE RECORD SET IN 2021. (SOT 15:20:16) “THE TREND IS UNAMBIGUOUS.” (VO 2: TWO SHOT) REPORT CO- AUTHOR DAVE REIDMILLER IS CLIMATE CENTER DIRECTOR AT THE GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE. (SOT 15:24:38) “YES, 2022 WAS THE SECOND WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD THAT WE’VE EXPERIENCED HERE IN THE GULF OF MAINE. BUT IT’S PROBABLY GOING TO BE ONE OF THE COOLEST YEARS WE EXPERIENCE GOING FORWARD.” (VO 3) NINE OF THE 10 WARMEST YEARS FOR THE GULF OF MAINE IN THE LAST DECADE. THE GULF ALSO WARMING FASTER THAN 97% OF THE WORLD’S OCEAN WATERS. (SOT 15:22:18) “THE RATES OF SEA LEVEL RISE HERE IN THE GULF OF MAINE ARE FASTER THAN MOST OTHER AREAS IN THE WORLD AS WELL.” (VO 4) JUST AS A FEW INCHES OF SEA LEVEL RISE GREATLY INCREASES THE RISK OF COASTAL FLOODING, THE SAME GOES FOR A FEW DEGREES OF WATER TEMPERATURE, AS REIDMILLER LIKENS THE OCEAN TO THE HUMAN BODY. (SOT 15:17:02) “JUST LIKE OUR BODY, IF WE GET A FEVER OF A COUPLE OF DEGREES, WE’RE GOING TO FEEL A LITTLE BIT ACHY. IF WE START GETTING THREE, FOUR OR FIVE DEGREES ABOVE OUR NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE, SYSTEMS CAN START TO SHUT DOWN, AND THAT’S REALLY KIND OF WHERE WE ARE NOW IN THE GULF OF MAINE AND FRANKLY, IN OCEANS AROUND THE WORLD.” (PHIL SU CLOSE) REIDMILLER SAYS THERE’S REASON FOR WORRY AND FOR HOPE: THAT WE KNOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSED BY CARBON EMISSIONS FROM BURNING FOSSIL FUELS, BUT RAISED AWARENESS OF THE PROBL