New report: Georgia's poor and rural communities face biggest climate risks

In this April 25, 2014 photo, a pedestrian crosses South Dooly Street in the main business section of Montezuma, Ga. The National Climate Assessment concluded the impacts of climate change are worse for rural communities of color. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Georgians are already feeling the effects of climate change, and the impacts are worse for poor communities of color, a panel of scientists said Tuesday in the federal government’s National Climate Assessment (NCA).

The report called out the Southeast’s long history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in its in-depth look at how climate change is affecting the region and how communities are adapting.