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Problem Drivers and Indicators • 5

spending and vendor selection habits based on those beliefs. You can see
that it doesn’t really matter if you agree with them (or the thousands of
scientists) or not.
What are the statistics showing? And what are the scientists saying? The
National Academies of Sciences in their 2008 brochure “Understanding
and Responding to Climate Change, Highlights of National Academies
Reports” tell us that “temperatures have already risen 1.4°F since the start
of the 20th century—with much of this warming occurring in just the
last 30 years—and temperatures will likely rise at least another 2°F, and
possibly more than 11°F, over the next 100 years. This warming will cause
significant changes in sea level, ecosystems, and ice cover, among other
impacts. In the Arctic, where temperatures have increased almost twice
as much as the global average, the landscape and ecosystems are already
changing rapidly.” 4

The National Academies are nongovernment, nonprofit organizations
that were set up to provide independent scientific and technological
advice to the U.S. government and nation. The National Academies
include three honorary societies that elect new members to their ranks
each year—the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Engineering, and Institute of Medicine—and the National Research
Council, the operating arm that conducts the bulk of the institution’s
science policy and technical work. The Academies enlist committees
of the nation’s top scientists, engineers, and other experts, all of whom
volunteer their time to study specific issues and concerns.

Further, the U.S. Congress has not passed one bill to cut global warm-
ing pollution, which may be a good thing. The best type of movement is
the grassroots movement, not one that is legislated. As project managers,
those of us who are turning ideas into reality, we’re sitting right here at the
grass roots.
5
There is an interesting article in a recent issue of Fly Fisherman Magazine
that could be viewed as good news, bad news. The good news is that there
is a possibility that new fisheries are opening up in the Arctic Circle. The
bad news is that the new fisheries may be caused by certain species of fish,
like sockeye and pink Pacific salmon, searching for cooler waters to spawn
in because their usual waters are warming.