As the astronomical costs of unabated Global Warming is becoming clear to leaders of business, and government, a bipartisan group of leaders from government and business came together to study what we as a nation stand to lose if we continue along our current dirty energy fueled trajectory versus taking varying levels of action to ameliorate Global Warming. Their report titled Risky Business is well worth reading with regional breakdowns for the future effects we're facing in the near future.
Bipartisan Report Tallies High Toll on Economy From Global Warming
By JUSTIN GILLIS
More than a million homes and businesses along the nation’s coasts could flood repeatedly before ultimately being destroyed. Entire states in the Southeast and the Corn Belt may lose much of their agriculture as farming shifts northward in a warming world. Heat and humidity will probably grow so intense that spending time outside will become physically dangerous, throwing industries like construction and tourism into turmoil.
That is a picture of what may happen to the United States economy in a world of unchecked global warming, according to a major new report released Tuesday by a coalition of senior political and economic figures from the left, right and center, including three Treasury secretaries stretching back to the Nixon administration.
At a time when the issue of climate change has divided the American political landscape, pitting Republicans against Democrats and even fellow party members against one another, the unusual bipartisan alliance of political veterans said that the country — and business leaders in particular — must wake up to the enormous scale of the economic risk.
“I actually do believe that we’re at a tipping point with the planet,” Mr. Paulson said in an interview at his home in Chicago. “A lot of things are going to happen that none of us are going to like to see.”
A future where just going outside will become much riskier in much of the country due to the increased heat and humidity, while other areas of our coasts will be under water should be enough to get the attention of leaders across a variety of fields.
South Florida
Here's just a sample from the Risky Business report:
Risky Business pdf
Our key findings underscore the reality that if we stay on our current emissions path, our climate risks will multiply and accumulate as the decades tick by. These risks include:
• Large-scale losses of coastal property and infrastructure
If we continue on our current path, by 2050 between $66 billion and $106 billion worth of existing coastal property will likely be below sea level nationwide, with $238 billion to $507 billion worth of property below sea level by 2100.
The purported cost savings of doing nothing are illusory. The more aggressive the actions we take now the smaller the economic costs we'll have to face in a few short decades. Taking the long view adopting more vigorous measures now is the most prudent course of action.
This shouldn't be a partisan issue.