Op-ed: The Costs of Inaction
Source: Renewable Energy World, 4/29/2011
Dr. Jim Ludes and Lindsey Ross offer their thoughts on the costs of unchecked climate change in the U.S.
We’re going to pay a price for climate change, whether we try to slow it or not. The data tells us that the cost of doing nothing will far out-weigh the cost of action.
By: Dr. James Ludes and Lindsey Ross
Despite what has been said in recent Congressional hearings and debates; despite the House vote to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate regulations; and, despite what a handful of vocal skeptics are saying, climate change is real. It is happening. But, it is not just about changes in weather patterns. This phenomenon could cost the U.S. billions of dollars and thousands of jobs if we doing nothing to slow it.
Climate change will impose hefty costs on our economy, security, competitiveness, and public health. Rising temperatures across the globe threaten to harm our national landscape, causing negative impacts on our communities, industries, and livelihoods in each state. During our lifetime, we will see the effects of climate change and the impacts on the U.S. economy.
The American economy is dependent upon its environmental landscape. Severe weather events can devastate the environment and critical industries across the country. In a warmer climate, not only is severe weather likely to increase but drier ecosystems will likely host more pests and more frequent forest fires, hurting our timber industries. In Arkansas, the timber industry employs tens of thousands. In Kentucky, it generates over $9 billion in revenue and employs approximately one out of every nine manufacturing workers in the state.
Droughts, heavy precipitation, an increase in pests, and warmer temperatures—consequences of climate change—are likely to also place strains on American farmers, reducing the quantity, quality, and value of crop yields. In the Midwest, warmer temperatures and increased precipitation could cost the region $9.3 billion per year in lost agricultural profits…
