Climate Change’s Impact on the Economy

Climate Change’s Impact on the Economy
By Connor Neuman

Climate change has been a ongoing issue that seems to always be a headline in the news. However, over roughly the last 20 years, this issue has been becoming much more prominent. According to NASA, since the late 19th century, Earth’s average surface temperature has risen about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit. Although some people may say that climate change is just a natural phenomenon that the Earth goes though, it is actually strongly driven by human activity and things are only going to get worse to not only our environment, but also the economy if we don’t do anything to stop it right now.

As I mentioned before, the Earth’s surface temperature has been steadily increasing over the course of history. It was just discovered that these temperatures are only getting hotter and hotter in recent years. According to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration analytics, “Earth's global surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth warmest since 1880” (NASA). Additionally, 5 of the hottest years on record have been since 2010. It is clear to see that temperatures has been rising and show no sign of slowing down. Why is this happening? The simple answer is just a dramatic increase in human activity. Enormous amounts of greenhouse gases are being released into the atmosphere, forcing the Earth’s temperature to rise. This severely impacts the economy in several ways. The biggest impact is mostly on the agriculture industry. Farmers won’t be able to grow crops with the extreme heat creating a food shortage for the entire nation. Not only will this will force us to heavily rely on imported food, but we also lose out on $133 billion worth of exports in this industry (CNN Money).

Due to these increasing temperatures, the Earth itself has been altered a number of different ways. One of the most impactful changes is the change in weather patterns. In the past 15 years the U.S. has experienced some of the most destructive hurricanes such as hurricane Michael, Katrina, and Harvey to name a few. Hurricane Harvey slammed Houston, Texas back in August, 2017 causing damage worth 125 billion dollars becoming the second most costly hurricane in U.S. history behind Katrina which happened in 2005. Unfortunately, NASA is predicting that these storms are only going to get worse. “Currently accepted climate models project that with a steady increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (1 percent per year), tropical ocean surface temperatures may rise by as much as 4.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2.7 degrees Celsius) by the end of the century. The study team concludes that if this were to happen, we could expect the frequency of extreme storms to increase by as much as 60 percent by that time” (NASA). This proves that it is crucial that something has to be implemented to prevent climate change because our government and economy simply can not handle these insane costs that hurricanes and natural disasters cause. Other areas in the economy that need funding will have to be stopped in order to repair the damages from the storms.

Another effect from the increasing temperatures is the melting ice caps in both the arctic and antarctic. Between 1993 and 2016, Greenland has lost an average of 281 billion tons of ice per year while Antarctica lost about 119 billion tons during the same time period. Additionally, the rate of Antarctica ice mass loss has tripled in the last decade. All of this melting ice is now causing ocean levels to rise which could possibly be the most significant effect of them all. According to GlobalChange.gov, “Global average sea level has risen by about 7–8 inches (about 16–21 cm) since 1900 , with about 3 of those inches (about 7 cm) occurring since 1993.” Although these number may not seem very impactful, we are already seeing problems occurring due to the rising water. Miami for example is already having a increase in flooding which has forced them raise the roads so they won’t get permanently flooded.  This not so simple task cost a grand total of $500 million. In addition to that, at the current rate of rising sea levels, the roads will have to be raised again in 30 years costing another $500 million. Now this is just the impact that rising sea levels has on Miami. Rising sea levels has endless amounts of affect across the world. In most cases, it is just flooding that coastal cities has to deal with, but eventually, the flooding will become such a big issue that it will become permanent.

In sum, it is clear to see that climate change is happening and that is it a problem that will not fade away on its own. It is man made so we are the only people that can solve it. If nothing is done soon in the future, efforts to prevent climate change will become much more difficult, or even near to impossible and our economy and environment will be in jeopardy.

Works Cited

“2018 Fourth Warmest Year in Continued Warming Trend, According to NASA, NOAA – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 8 Feb. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/news/2841/2018-fourth-warmest-year-in-continued-warming-trend-according-to-nasa-noaa/.

“Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA, NASA, 5 Feb. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.

Harris, Alex. “Keep Raising Roads, Experts Tell Miami Beach, but Explain It to Residents Better.” Miamiherald, Miami Herald, 19 Sept. 2018, www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article217984100.html.

“New List of the Costliest U.S. Hurricanes Includes 2017's Harvey, Irma, Maria.” The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel, weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2018-01-29-americas-costliest-hurricanes.

“USGCRP Indicator Details.” GlobalChange.gov, www.globalchange.gov/browse/indicators/global-sea-level-rise.

“Warming Seas May Increase Frequency of Extreme Storms – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 28 Jan. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/news/2837/warming-seas-may-increase-frequency-of-extreme-storms/.

Yes. “These Are the Top US Exports.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, money.cnn.com/2018/03/07/news/economy/top-us-exports/index.html.