Kristie L. Ebi, UW Professor of Global Health and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, authored a recently published report summarizing the first 25 years of accomplishments by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). Dr. Ebi is a member of the USGCRP National Research Council Advisory Committee and Director of the UW Center for Health and the Global Environment.
Established under the Global Research Act of 1990, the USGCRP has provided strategic planning and coordination to 13 participating federal agencies working to advance the science of global environmental change.
This new report highlights notable accomplishments of the program, both through its coordinating work and the many synthesis and assessment products it has published to share research findings with decision makers and the public.
USGCRP has made considerable strides in making scientific knowledge more useful to decision makers. For example, it has documented substantial increases in heavy downpours in most regions of the United States over the past 50 years, which can cause flooding that overwhelms the existing infrastructure of sewers and roads. Awareness of such trends can help governments, businesses, and citizens respond accordingly in many realms, including agriculture, conservation, and human health.