Report says warming is changing US daily life

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming is already changing America from sea to rising sea and is affecting how Americans live, a massive new federally commissioned report says.

A special panel of scientists convened by the government issued Friday a 1,146-page draft report that details in dozens of ways how climate change is already disrupting the health, homes and other facets of daily American life. It warns that those disruptions will increase in the future.

"Climate change affects everything that you do," said report co-author Susan Cutter, director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. "It affects where you live, where you work and where you play and the infrastructure that you need to do all these things. It's more than just the polar bears."

The blunt report takes a global environmental issue and explains what it means for different U.S. regions, for various sectors of the economy and for future generations.

The National Climate Assessment doesn't say what should be done about global warming. White House science adviser John Holdren writes that it will help leaders, regulators, city planners and even farmers figure out what to do to cope with coming changes.

And climate change is more than hotter temperatures, the report said.

"Human-induced climate change means much more than just hotter weather," the report says, listing rising-seas, downpours, melting glaciers and permafrost, and worsening storms. "These changes and other climatic changes have affected and will continue to affect human health, water supply, agriculture, transportation, energy, and many other aspects of society."

The report uses the word "threat" or variations of it 198 times and versions of the word "disrupt" another 120 times.

If someone were to list every aspect of life changed or likely to be altered from global warming, it would easily be more than 100, said two of the report's authors.

The report, written by team of 240 scientists, is required every four years by law. The first report was written in 2000. No report was issued while George W. Bush was president. The next one came out in 2009. This report, paid for by the federal government, is still a draft and not officially a government report yet. Officials are seeking public comments for the next three months.

"There is so much that is already happening today," said study co-author Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. "This is no longer a future issue. It's an issue that is staring us in the face today"

This version of the report is far more blunt and confident in its assessments than previous ones, Hayhoe said: "The bluntness reflects the increasing confidence we have" in the science and day-to-day realities of climate change.

The report emphasizes that man-made global warming is doing more than just altering the environment we live in, it's a threat to our bodies, homes, offices, roads, airports, power plants, water systems and farms.

"Climate change threatens human health and well-being in many ways, including impacts from increased extreme weather events, wildfire, decreased air quality, diseases transmitted by insects, food and water, and threats to mental health," the report said.

"Climate change and its impacts threaten the well-being of urban residents in all 13 regions of the U.S.," the report said. "Essential local and regional infrastructure systems such as water, energy supply, and transportation will increasingly be compromised by interrelated climate change impacts."

For example, the report details 13 airports that have runways that could be inundated by rising sea level. It mentions that thawing Alaskan ground means 50 percent less time to drill for oil. And overall it says up to $6.1 billion in repairs need to be made to Alaskan roads, pipelines, sewer systems, buildings and airports to keep up with global warming.

Sewer systems across America may overflow more, causing damages and fouling lakes and waterways because of climate change, the report said. The sewer overflows into Lake Michigan alone will more than double by the year 2100, the report said.

While warmer weather may help some crops, others will be hurt because of "weeds, diseases, insect pests and other climate change-induced stresses," the report said. It said weeds like kudzu do better with warmer weather and are far more likely to spread north.

"Several populations - including children, the elderly, the sick, the poor, tribes and other indigenous people - are especially vulnerable to one or more aspects of climate change," the report said.

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Online:

The National Climate Assessment: http://ncadac.globalchange.gov.

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California cold snap threatens $2 billion citrus harvest

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Arctic air mass has sent temperatures plunging across California, threatening the state's lucrative citrus harvest, its winter vegetables and its more cold-sensitivestrawberry crop, weather and agricultural experts said on Friday.

Temperatures throughout the state fell by as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) below normal on Thursday and Friday as snowfall and sub-freezing conditions forced a 17-hour closure of a key highway, Interstate 5, through the mountains north of Los Angeles.

Authorities reopened the highway Friday morning after thousands of motorists were left stranded overnight on either side of the winding stretch of road known as the Grapevine or were forced to take circuitous alternate routes.

It remained unclear how much of the state's $2 billion-a-year citrus industry, which accounts for most of the oranges and lemons commercially available to U.S. consumers, might be lost.

In the San Joaquin Valley, the heart of navel and mandarin orange production in central California, low temperatures in the teens threatened to kill citrus crops, which are in danger of perishing whenever the mercury falls below 28 degrees, farmers' groups said.

The National Weather Service alerted growers to the danger so they could take precautions, but there may still be a heavy loss, meteorologist Jeff Barlow said.

"They won't be able to save all of the crops," Barlow said. "This is going to be a pretty significant freeze event for the central California citrus crop."

Nevertheless, California Citrus Mutual spokeswoman Alyssa Houtby said the group's members were optimistic that damage would be curtailed enough to avoid major shortages or price increases. Because citrus fruit is harvested in winter, farmers are used to dealing with frost, she said.

She said about 25 percent of the citrus harvest had already been picked, and the rest was still on the trees.

'IT GETS A LITTLE DICEY'

Cold weather in moderation can increase the fruit's sugar content, making it more resilient to future touches of frost, Houtby said.

"It can be a good thing for citrus, but when it gets down into the lower 20s for long times, as it is expected to tonight, it gets a little dicey," she told Reuters.

The lemon crop, primarily grown farther to the south in Ventura County, also faced the prospect of frost over the weekend, Houtby said.

California's strawberries, valued at roughly $2.2 billion a year, are especially vulnerable to the cold snaps, with plants generally unable to withstand temperatures lower than 34 degrees for extended periods of time, said Carolyn O'Donnell of the California Strawberry Commission.

Although much of the state's 855,000-ton annual strawberry yield comes from Watsonville, just south of San Jose, the harvesting season there is still months away. But the current U.S. fresh strawberry supply depends on farmers in Ventura County, who produce far less.

Because of the already low production, the effect of frost damage to Ventura County crops at this time of year could be amplified, O'Donnell said.

However, like citrus growers, strawberry farmers are taking precautions, such as running large fans and heaters in the fields.

Among other quintessential Californian crops threatened are avocados, a $400 million industry generally harvested between March and October. The largest growing areas are in San Diego and Ventura counties, said Jonathan Dixon, research program director at the California Avocado Commission.

"The growers I know are having a lot of sleepless nights at the moment," Dixon said. "Most of these guys will be up all night chasing their frost protection."

Although no further snow was expected over the weekend, temperatures were expected to continue to drop on Saturday before gradually warming next week, the weather service said.

In normally temperate San Diego, temperatures were expected to reach 39 degrees on Friday night, closer to the record low of 34 degrees set in 1888 than the normal 59 degrees, said Robert Balfour, a National Weather Service forecaster.

"The rest of the country is probably laughing at us, saying, ‘You call that cold?'" Balfour said.

(Reporting and writing by Brandon Lowrey; Editing by Steve Gorman and Marguerita Choy)

UN urged to refer Syria to war crimes court

BERLIN (AP) — More than 50 countries have backed a call for the U.N. Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, a move that would open the way for war crimesprosecutions.

A draft of the letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press says the situation in Syria should be referred to the Hague-based war crimes tribunal "without exceptions and irrespective of the alleged perpetrators."

"At the very least, the council should send out an unequivocal message (...) announcing that it intends to refer the situation to the ICC unless a credible, fair and independent accountability process is being established in a timely manner" by Syria, it continues.

The letter cites the findings of a U.N. expert panel documenting summary executions, torture and sexual violence that has occurred since the start of the uprising in March 2011. It also notes repeated appeals by the U.N.'s top human rights official and resolutions by the global body's Human Rights Council calling for ICC referral.

The draft letter was signed by Switzerland's ambassador to the United Nations in New York on behalf of dozens of countries including Britain and France, two of the Security Council's five permanent members. The other three permanent members — the United States, China and Russia — had not signed the draft.

A spokesman for Switzerland's U.N. mission in New York said the letter would be submitted to the Security Council on Monday.

Adrian Sollberger said Switzerland first proposed such a move in June 2012, and that it now had the backing of more than 50 countries from all regions of the world, giving the call sufficient political weight.

"The manifold allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Syria must be investigated and those responsible among all the parties of the conflict must be brought before a court," he said.

The Security Council is the only body that can refer Syria to the ICC because the country itself hasn't ratified the international convention that established the tribunal.

The U.N.'s human rights office issued a report last week estimating that at least 60,000 people have died in Syria since the start of the conflict.

Official: Syrian troops capture much of Daraya

This citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows rebels from al-Qaida affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, wave their brigade flag as they step on the top of a Syrian air force helicopter, at Taftanaz air base that was captured by the rebels, in Idlib province, northern Syria, Friday Jan. 11, 2013. Islamic militants seeking to topple President Bashar Assad took full control of a strategic northwestern air base Friday in a significant blow to government forces, seizing helicopters, tanks and multiple rocket launchers, activists said. The Arabic words on the flag read:"There is no God only God and Mohamad his prophet, Jabhat al-Nusra (their brigade name)". (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian troops have captured most of a strategic Damascus suburb used by rebels as a base to threaten key regime facilities in the capital, a government official said Saturday.

The announcement that regime forces had taken Daraya came a day after anti-government activists said rebels and Islamic militants seeking to topple President Bashar Assad took full control of Taftanaz air base in the northwest. That dealt a significant blow to government forces, with helicopters, tanks and multiple rocket launchers seized.

The back-to-back declarations highlight the see-saw nature of the conflict in Syria, where one side's victories in one area are often followed by reverses in another.

"The army is battling some small pockets (of rebels) and (Daraya) will be safe within few days," the official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Syrian troops have been battling for weeks to regain Daraya from the hands of anti-government fighters. The suburb, just south of Damascus, is on the edge of the strategic military air base of Mazzeh in a western neighborhood of the capital. It borders the Kfar Sousseh neighborhood that is home to the government headquarters, the General Security intelligence agency head office and the Interior Ministry, which was the target of a recent suicide attack that wounded the interior minister.

The suburb is also less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the People's Palace - one of three palaces in the capital used by Assad.

Syria's pro-government media had reported that thousands of rebel fighters from the extremist Jabhat al-Nusra group have holed up in Daraya in preparation to storm Damascus.

Jabhat al-Nusra, which has been branded a terrorist organization by the U.S. and which Washington claims is affiliated with al-Qaida, has been among the most effective fighting force on the rebel side in the battle to oust Assad. Syrian official statements regularly play up the role of Islamist extremists within the rebel movement.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Daraya and other suburbs of the capital were being shelled on Saturday.

The group also said Syrian warplanes were also attacking eastern suburbs of Damascus including Mleiha, as well as the rebel-held town of Rastan near the central city of Homs.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since March 2011 in Syria's conflict, which has turned into an outright civil war driving hundreds of thousands from their homes and across the borders into neighboring countries.

Shortly after they captured the Taftanaz field in Idlib province, rebels in the neighboring province of Aleppo intensified their assault on the Mannagh air base and the international airport of the city of Aleppo, which includes a military base. Rebels have been trying to capture the two sites since last week, along with a third airfield known as Kweires.

State-run Syrian TV reported Saturday that the army repelled rebels who attacked Kishek airport in Aleppo and inflicted casualties among the attackers. It gave no further details.

The Observatory reported Saturday that warplanes carried out air raids around the international airport of Aleppo in an attempt to push back the rebels attacking it.

The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said troops and rebels clashed in the southern town of Busra al-Harir in the Daraa province where the uprising against Assad's regime began nearly two years ago.

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Bassem Mroue reported from Beirut.

Demonstrators rally in support of Iraqi government

Protesters chant pro-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki slogans as they carry a huge Iraqi flag during a demonstration to show support for Al-Maliki's government, in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 12, 2013. Shiite demonstrators are taking to the streets in Iraq's capital to show support for the prime minister who has been facing angry protests in Sunni provinces for the past three weeks as the Sunni minority protest what they call discrimination by the Shiite-led government. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Shiite demonstrators chant pro-government slogans and wave national flags, to show support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center in photo on banner, in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 12, 2013. Members of Iraq's Sunni minority have been holding large demonstration for the past three weeks to protest what they call discrimination by the Shiite-led government. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

BAGHDAD (AP) — Shiite demonstrators took to the streets inIraq's capital Saturday to show support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, which has faced angry protests in Sunni provinces in a sign of growing sectarian tensions.

Under tight security measures, about 2,000 people took part in the rally held in downtown Baghdad, some holding pictures of the Shiite prime minister. They reject Sunni calls to abolish a tough anti-terrorism law and another law banning former members of the disbanded Baath party from holding government jobs.

Some of the protesters raised banners reading "The aim of Anbar protests is to divide Iraq," and "We support al-Maliki." Others held aloft posters denouncing fugitive Sunni vice president Tariq al-Hashemi as a "lord of sectarianism."

Members of Iraq's Sunni minority, in the western province of Anbar and other Sunni parts of the country, have been holding large demonstrations for the past three weeks to protest what they call discrimination by the Shiite-led government.

The Sunni protests began last month following the arrests of bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, one of the central government's most senior Sunni officials. He has since become a rallying point for the demonstrators, who are angry over perceived second-class treatment by the Shiite-led government.

Also on Saturday, dozens of people held a similar rally in the mostly Shiite port city of Basra In southern Iraq in support of al-Maliki.

Ahmed al-Sari, a lawyer, said he joined Basra demonstration in order to show his support for al-Maliki "who is confronting a sectarian conspiracy that threatens Iraq's unity."

Iraqi officials said that the demonstrations held in Sunni areas were aimed to create nationwide chaos and revive sectarian conflict in the country. Sectarian tensions frequently boil over into bloody attacks, nowadays mostly by Sunni insurgents against Shiite residents and pilgrims.

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Associated Press writer Sameer n. Yacoub contributed to this report.