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Climate change-related weather events are expected to become more frequent and more intense and that’s going to hit the US economy hard. That’s the one thing in an extensive report released by the US government. It says low-income communities will be the most affected by global warming.
This, according to a report released by over 300 scientist and 13 federal agencies—and was mandated by the US Congress.
The report forecasts that the US could lose hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century due to this changing climate.
Agriculture in the Midwest will be the hardest hit amongst US industrial sectors. The report also says rising temperatures would be the largest factor contributing to a forecasted decline in food productivity.
Hurricane Harvey slams Texas: Water from the Addicks Reservoir flows into neighborhoods in Houston as floodwaters rise Tuesday, August 29. Credit: CNN
The report adds people’s health will be affected as illnesses like asthma and hay fever will become more prevalent. That there will be an increase in ticks carrying Lyme disease and mosquitoes with zika and dengue fever.
Trump’s White House, on the other hand, is dismissing the report saying that it is based on the most extreme scenarios for climate change.
He (Trump) has made no secret of his stance on the issue since he withdrew the US from the Paris climate Accord, and rolled back Obama era regulations that protected the environment.
“Any leader who does not take climate change seriously is doing a disservice to the public,” commented Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, co-author of the report.
The White House released the report only a day after Americans celebrated Thanksgiving—on Black Friday—which is the busiest shopping day of the year. Critics say the timing of this release is not a coincidence.
Former vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate Gore accused Trump of seeking to “hide the truth” by releasing the report on Black Friday. He said that unlike Trump, most Americans are worried about climate change.
Hurricane Harvey slams Texas: Matthew Koser searches for important papers and heirlooms inside his grandfather’s house in Houston’s Bear Creek neighborhood on August 29. The neighborhood flooded after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir. Credit: CNN
“Unbelievably deadly and tragic wildfires rage in the west, hurricanes batter our coasts — and the Trump administration chooses the Friday after Thanksgiving to try and bury this critical U.S. assessment of the climate crisis,” Gore said in a release.
Indeed, the White House report dismissed the idea, pushed by Trump himself among others, that cold weather suggests that global warming might not be occurring.
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