Disclaimer:
To begin, I must add that I do not take one side or the other on the cause of climate change or the simple existence of it. I am merely going by the facts at hand that happen to be links between climate related changes in the earth and national/international economies. The facts strongly support a correlation in terms of increased natural disasters, changing water levels, rise of the ambient temperature of the Earth's crust, etc. I am not one to say what is causing it, it is simply the facts. I will leave that up to the scientists. Thank you for reading, you may continue :)
Climate change, although widely disputed by scientists, conspiracy theorists, and even our President is beginning to rear its ugly head in everyday life. Effects may not be seen in your area just yet, but the impoverished areas of the world, such as Puerto Rico, Haiti, and much of South America are feeling the impacts of it in the way of food shortages, natural disasters, and widespread disease. These events are not always considered a result of climate change because of disagreements among experts, however, there is ample evidence to prove a correlation. Climate change’s effects can be seen across the globe and affect each and every one of us today, however, one aspect that is not given nearly enough attention is how the degradation of our planet will affect the economy. Climate change has become a detriment to the future success of the global economy.
In assessing climate change's effects on the economy, we are able to see how it will change our everyday lives in the near future. Perhaps not in yours or my lifetime, but our children and children's children may suffer the consequences. Once again, I'm not one to prove climate change, I am here to give you the facts on how it is really affecting you.
It is no doubt that natural disaster has plagued the globe and left countless towns, cities, and even nations in shambles. Climate change has increased the chances and severity of these disasters in recent years. As the surface temperature increases, drought and famine become more possible and prevalent. This is mainly due to how increased temperatures affect the groundwater in affected areas. The heat causes excess water to evaporate leaving the ground dry and infertile. For agriculture in developing countries and even developed countries that do not widely use complex irrigation systems in farming, this will cause crop production to slow and even stop if the conditions get worse. This evaporating air also provides fuel for more destructive and frequent storms. Along with a rising ocean temperature, tropical storms and hurricanes will become more aggressive with higher wind speeds and heavier rain (USGS). In agricultural societies around the world, these powerful storms can lay waste to entire populations of people with no hope of rebuilding.
The effect of natural disasters on a nation or cities economy, however, has been disputed by economist as post disaster relief and rebuilding often leaves the area with an economic boom due to the increased spending and work needed to get back on track. This theory, however, is quickly uprooted when the workforce is unable to efficiently rebuild. John Stuart Mill states in his book, Principles of Political Economics: With Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy, "The possibility of a rapid repair (from disaster) mainly depends on whether the country has been depopulated. If there is as much food left to them, or valuables to buy food, as enables them by any amount of privation to remain alive and in working condition, they will in short time have raised as great a produce and acquired collectively as great a wealth and as great a capital, as before..."(Mill 93) Mill explains that the key to repair in spite of natural disaster is the health and ability of the workforce. Without a healthy society, post disaster reparations would be impossible and leave the area without hope of future success. Due to climate change, natural disasters are catastrophic and crippling to agricultural societies due to the accelerating effects of climate change.
As an American, this issue seems to not have any bearing on how we live our everyday lives and you would be right in terms of natural disaster. Effects can be seen more in developing countries, but the risk of natural disasters is ever present in coastal cities of the US. These disasters put production on halt and, until reparations can be made, show huge hits to GDP in the short run (Sweet). This is just taking into account natural disaster related to climate change.
The effects economically become even more present when you look at the effects it has on agriculture even in the US. The increased temperature renders once plentiful land land infertile. Regardless of the amount of water pumped through irrigation systems, the bacteria and minerals needed to grow healthy, abundant plants die in the adverse conditions. These widespread crop failures will cause production in the agricultural industry to fall meaning supply will plummet of certain, more climatic crops. A resulted increase in prices will follow leaving the market severely unbalanced. These price fluctuations will kill sales of crops affected resulting in loss of jobs due to a lower demand for these higher priced crops. In foreign countries, these effects will begin to be seen in the near future. Foods like avocados, apples, and even beer may cease to be a staple in our diets due to climate change. Farmers and producers have difficulty finding stable sources of water for their crops and the plants simply won’t grow in the overheated earth. Without alternative growing methods resulting in hiked prices, these foods may be off grocery store shelves in the next ten years (Contributor). Issues with agriculture is the obvious effect of climate change, but it will cause major fluctuations in the food market and make more of an impact than you think on the economy.
In addition to agriculture falling to climate change, production and trade will also see its effects. Take our country for example. The US currently has a trade deficit of about $50 billion meaning we import that much more money worth of goods and resources than we export (Franck). This is fairly evident. Go to a store and pick up a shirt or some technology and read the label. It will most likely say “Made in China/Japan/Vietnam” basically anywhere but the United States. Taking into consideration this major trade deficit and how much our everyday lives rely on foreign imports, a major hit in the shipping industry would be detrimental to the lives of millions. Climate change is taking shots at this industry already and will only get worse as time goes on. Ice caps at the poles are melting due to the increased temperature releasing water into the oceans. This and the fact that water expands when it is warmed has caused a global rise in sea level (US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Not only does this further increase the power of storms, but it can mean the end to many coastal cities. In terms of trading, coastal cities are hubs. With these cities going under, literally, the ports will need to rebuild inland costing billions of dollars and countless people would be out of work as the jobs move elsewhere. In addition, while trade is put on hold for new ports to be built, prices will skyrocket as there is a bottleneck on products and resources moving into the country. In the long run, the stress put on trading may help US based companies to thrive on the competitive advantage, but most US based companies are even importing their goods as it is much cheaper to outsource. Even companies manufacturing in the US will be hit by reduced trade because many production materials are imported as well. This shift back to the US, although already starting, will take decades to show in the economy and will most likely leave consumers with overpriced goods in areas where foreign product can no longer reach. Once again destroying demand for goods and resulting in plummeting sales. Rising water can also render many low communities unlivable, relocating families to already densely populated areas and putting strain on the current markets in place. These trading issues can be seen worldwide as waters rise and limit overseas movement.
Climate change is taking a toll on the economy as we speak and will only progress as time goes on. Destruction of agricultural efficiency will plunge the market into a recession as prices rise and sales fall. Workers will lose jobs in light of the loss of demand. The rising water will put a halt on trade and prices will rise once again on foreign products and US products as imports and exports fall. The economy will be hit very hard by climate change whether it is seen currently or not. The future success of this nation and the whole world is at stake and something must be done to limit human damage on this planet. There is only one earth and we need to keep it spinning.
Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate it. Any other topics you would like me to discuss, leave them below in the comments. Be sure to check back as I should be posting every week, if not more. Make sure to:
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Works Cited:
King, Erica Y. “Climate Change Will Severely Affect US Economy, Particularly in Midwest: Report.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 24 Nov. 2018, abcnews.go.com/ABCNews/climate-change-severely-affect-us-economy-midwest-report/story?id=59378570.
Mill, John Stuart. Principles of Political Economy: with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy. Bibliolife, 2009.
US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Is Sea Level Rising?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 27 Oct. 2008, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevel.html.
USGS. “How Can Climate Change Affect Natural Disasters?” How Can Climate Change Affect Natural Disasters?, USGS, www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-can-climate-change-affect-natural-disasters-1?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products.
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