RHODE ISLAND HAS an area of 1,545 sq. mi. (4,001 sq. m.) with an average elevation of 200 ft. (61 m.) above sea level. The land is divided into two regions: the coastal lowlands (made up of sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, lagoons, saltwater ponds and low plains) covering more than half of Rhode Island; and the Eastern New England Uplands, a region of small valleys, rolling hills, lakes, reservoirs and ponds.
Rhode Island’s humid continental climate is a little milder than in most of New England, with the extremes of winter cold and summer heat moderated by the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay. Providence’s annual average temperature is 51 degrees F (11 degrees C), with January temperatures averaging 29 degrees F (minus 1.5 degrees C), and July temperatures averaging 73 degrees F (23 degrees C), with an annual precipitation of 46 in (117 cm.). Temperatures are moderated by warm winds off Narragansett Bay, but extremes do occur. The highest temperature recorded in the state was 104 degrees F (40 degrees C) on August 2, 1975, and the lowest temperature recorded in the state was minus 23 degrees F (minus 31 degrees C) on January 11, 1942. Rhode Island’s soil is fertile, but very rocky, and about 60 percent of Rhode Island’s land is covered by forest.
In 1969, massive storm surges from Hurricane Carol raged through the Rhode Island Yacht Club.
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Beaches do not stay put, waves and current move the sand and change the coastline, and this damage will likely increase as sea levels rise and the intensity of storms increases. The average temperature in Providence has risen about 3.3 degrees F (1.8 degrees C) over the last century. Coastal erosion and storm surges have already damaged many of the state’s tidal flats and dunes, including those on Block Island and throughout the Rhode Island Refuge Complex. Rhode Island’s 400 mi. (644 km.) of coastline is home to the bulk of the state’s residents. The beaches along the south shore have already been severely damaged by hurricanes and storm surges. Many of Rhode Island’s lakes and waterways are freezing for shorter periods of time, reducing traditional outdoor recreation opportunities such as hockey and ice-skating. Rhode Island’s current ozone levels exceed national health standards, and the entire state is rated as having a "serious" problem attaining safe levels. Warmer weather could increase concentrations of ground-level ozone, which is known to aggravate respiratory problems.
Based on energy consumption data from the Energy Information Administration, Rhode Island’s total CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in million metric tons for 2004 was 10.95, made up of contributions by source from commercial, 1.20; industrial, 0.62; residential, 2.80; transportation, 4.38; and electric power, 1.96.
Rhode Island adopted a "renewable portfolio standard" that calls for 16 percent of the state’s energy to come from clean, renewable sources like solar and wind by 2020, and a greenhouse gas reduction target is to meet 1990 levels of six greenhouse gases by 2010 and below 1990 levels by 2020. Rhode Island joined the Climate Registry, a voluntary national initiative to track, verify, and report greenhouse gas emissions, with acceptance of data from state agencies, corporations, and educational institutions beginning in January 2008 and joined all the states in New England (as well as others in the mid-Atlantic area) in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first multiple-states, market-based mandatory cap-and-trade program to reduce heat-trapping emissions from power plants. The Environmental Council of Rhode Island and more than 70 other state groups and businesses are part of the Rhode Island Climate Coalition, which is working to support the state’s climate action plan.
