KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: There are some eye-opening predictions in a major new report from the government about future climate changes. We get the details from CNN's Natalie Pawelski.</s>NATALIE PAWELSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): East Coast islands sinking under rising oceans. Rocky Mountain meadows disappearing. Pacific Northwest forests thriving. That could be the future of America, according to the first "National Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the United States." The draft report, put together by a government advisory panel, predicts average U.S. temperatures will rise between five and 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century, as greenhouse gasses, notably carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, form an atmospheric blanket that traps the sun's energy and heats the Earth. Farmers could benefit. It's expected crop yields will rise. And some forests would enjoy a few good decades because of warmer temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide. But other trees, like the sugar maples of New England, are not expected to survive the heat, and the big forests of the Southeast may be broken up into a tapestry of grasslands and woods. The report says climate change probably won't do much damage to the nation's economy, as a whole, but for some Americans, like coastal residents trying to live on land, threatened by rising sea levels, a warming Earth could bring a lot of trouble. Natalie Pawelski, CNN.
Government Report on Climate Changes Predicts Rising Temperatures in U.S. over Next Century