Global Warming and the Pacific Northwest

The Kyoto Protocol, a worldwide agreement which for the first time regulates carbon dioxide emissions, goes into effect today. How will global warming affect life in the Pacific Northwest? Brian Lamb and a group of researchers in the WSU Laboratory for Atmospheric Research are looking at the effects of global climate change on regional air quality. With support from the Environmental Protection Agency and in collaboration with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Washington, and the Pacific Northwest Forest Service Center, the group is modeling air quality in the U.S. in the middle of the 21st century. The group is looking at such questions as how global warming will affect air quality on regional and urban scales, how land use change affects air quality, and how fire and fire management affects regional air quality. For more information, contact Brian Lamb, blamb@wsu.edu, 509.335.5702.