Hidden+Costs+of+Climate+Change+Running+Hundreds+of+Billions+a+Year

[|Hidden Costs of Climate Change Running Hundreds of Billions a Year] National Geographic Accessed on September 28th, 2017

Possible solutions for the US include doubling the current share of renewable energy, which could create 500,000 new jobs and cut the amount of energy generated from coal. Regulations that require a certain amount of energy to be generated from renewable sources currently exist in 29 states, but if all states meet their Clean Power Plan obligations solely with renewables they would be able to generate 49% of US electricity by 2050. Overall costs of this are far less than the health benefits and cost reductions. This will also save a large amount of freshwater since so much is currently used for electricity generation.
 * Summary****:** Extreme weather worsened by climate change and the burning of fossil fuels has cost the US at least $240 billion a year for the last decade. The three most recent hurricanes and the 76 wildfires are not included in this count, and these alone are estimated to cost over $300 billion. In the next ten years, yearly costs are expected to go up to $360 billion, which could greatly damage US economic growth. Costs of climate change are predicted to be worst in the South and the Midwest. Although climate change does not directlycause extreme weather, their intensity and frequency are much greater since the world's temperature increased 1 degree celsius. Global warming is increasing, and will be 2 degrees warmer by 2050.


 * How it relates to course:** We have learned about trying to minimize human impact on Earth in our course. We learned about sustainable societies, which manage their economies and population sizes without exceeding all or part of the planet's ability to absorb environmental insults, replenish its resources, and sustain human and other forms of life over time (Miller 5). The article talks about methods to make the US a more sustainable society and to better use its resources. The article also talks about pollution prevention, or input pollution control, which is meant to slow or eliminate pollution by switching to less harmful chemicals or processes (Miller 18). This article is about switching to more renewable forms of energy to cut further increases in global warming, which is an example of input pollution control.


 * My opinion:** Using renewable energy would have wonderful long-term effects on the environment and would greatly reduce pollution. Although this is costly now, it would eliminate lots of long-term health, energy, climate, and pollution issues that are quickly growing due to human actions. Implementing more regulations that require the use of renewable energy and the further improvement of it would be a good way to address this issue.


 * Law:** The most relevant law to this issues is the National Energy Act of 1978 which ensures sustained economic growth while also permitting the economy time to make an orderly transition from the past era of inexpensive energy resources to a period of more costly energy. It established a framework for energy-efficiency programs, tax incentives and disincentives, energy conservation programs, and alternative fuel programs.