Summary of Responses to Questions for Lunch Discussion

Question #1 (What threats from weather and climate concern you the most?)

• Changes in precipitation, hydrology, and intensity/severity of extreme events
• Quality of life
  - health
  - biodiversity
  - infrastructure
• Socio-economic impact of sea level change
• Extreme events
• Secondary or indirect threats (e.g. health & ag. impacts for insects)
• Sea level rise
• Salt water intrusion in wells
• Agriculture near sea level
• Ground H2O withdrawal (population ­, Ag. Irrigation)
• Disease vectors & health
• Storms and flood damage
• Positives
  - Extended tourism season
  - Double seasons for row crops
• Impacts of weather variability and extreme events
  - Water management
  - Ecosystems
  - Human Health
  - Infrastructure
• Is there a problem?
• How will "it" impact:
  Places:
  - arid
  - coastal
  - wetlands
  People:
  - esp. those less able to adjust
• People's reactions
  - over-react
  - ignore
  - more attention to short term problems
• Extreme precip. events
• Horizons for infrastructure design vs. climate change horizon
• Impacts on environmental quality

Question #2 (What potential climate change impacts--good or bad--would you like to know more about?)

• Changes in precipitation, esp. hurricanes and extreme events (sea level rise?)
• Economic Impacts
• Increasing public awareness - how to?
  - understanding policy maker awareness
  - understanding positive aspects of change
• Uncertainty of climate change
  - mix of precip. versus temp. change
  - feedback mechanisms
• What actions can have real potential for mitigating climate change?
• Give us more credible predictions of expected changes
• Is problem agreed upon?
• Better predictions of weather over the 5 week - 10 year period.
• National priorities-to avoid disconnected regional-local actions of lesser significance to global concerns.
• Info on past and contemporary climate variation and links to human and natural systems
• Info on anthropogenic impacts independent of climate change
• Potential of coastal "strategic retreat"
• Health, vegetation, vector ecology relations
• Weather, storm, floods
• Energy Policy…can GHG control be effectively accomplished?

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