Let’s Put Climate Change At The Top Of The Agenda

By Climate Guest Blogger on Nov 10, 2012 at 12:30 pm

Credit: FEMA

by Joe Mendelson, via National Wildlife Federation

The election is over—now what on the climate change issue? Hurricane Sandy, the nation’s fiscal situation, and the election results have combined to create three key things that I think compel Congress to action on climate change.

1. Climate Change Impacts are Costing the Federal Government Too Much Money

Congress returns in mid-November to the fiscal cliff debate. Hurricane Sandy should put the issue of climate change squarely within this discussion. Sandy’s estimated costs are $10–$20 billion in insured losses with at least another $50 billion in economic damages. The $12 billion in government money set aside for disaster relief this year will be easily gobbled up in the recovery. Congress will be forced to seek additional money to help effected citizens. The federal price tag for the recovery from Hurricane Katrina reached $120 billion. Sandy may not reach that total, but the amount of federal money spent on the relief will be significant.

Hurricane Sandy, however, is only one piece of the climate impact puzzle. This year the country has also experienced record drought, widespread wildfires, and the worst West Nile virus outbreak ever. Munich Re put the cost of the first six months of 2012’s extreme weather events at over $14.5 billion. All of these impacts have required a federal government response. Lawmakers sought $800 million in additional funds this year to deal with wildfires and new legislation for over $300 million in drought assistance to livestock producers hit by the drought is expected soon.

But wait there is more. Sandy has shown that the country needs a crash course in preparing for and adapting to the changes and impacts that will occur in the future (read NWF’s prescription here). This is not cheap. For example, Norfolk, VA—home of Naval Station Norfolk and on the frontline of climate impacts—has a comprehensive adaptation plan that will cost about $1 billion. This is roughly twice the city’s entire annual budget and cannot be undertaken without federal dollars.

So, if we are serious about addressing the federal budget crisis, lawmakers need to look at the exploding costs of climate change impacts and how much it will take to better prepare for such events.

The choice Congress will face is who picks up the tab.

The past failure to put price on carbon pollution means that the costs of dealing with these “externalities” (read: impacts) have never been borne by the polluters. Instead, the federal government and taxpayers like you and me foot the bill. The looming fiscal crisis and the costs of climate change demand this equation be changed.

We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality, that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. President Obama, 2012 victory speech

2. Big Oil and King Coal’s Money Play Was A Costly Failure

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Are California’s Medical Weed Farms Hurting The Environment?

By Climate Guest Blogger on Nov 10, 2012 at 10:30 am

Not so green after all?

by Whitney Allen

In California’s Emerald Triangle, the nation’s largest area for growing medical marijuana, federal anti-drug laws are keeping the state from regulating the growing industry. A California state law passed in 1996 that decriminalized the use of medical marijuana has led to an influx of dispensaries and pot farms to service them. The marijuana industry is now growing unchecked by state officials because of pressure from the federal government on would-be regulators.

Maggie Caldwell from Mother Jones describes the situation:

The farming of marijuana—for medicinal use or otherwise—remains illegal under federal law. Any regulation instituted by these agencies is, in effect, legitimizing the cultivation of a federally controlled substance, and the US Department of Justice has warned local officials that they could face individual prosecution if they continue to validate the farms. Mark Lovelace, a Humboldt County supervisor, says the DOJ’s policy is actually abetting the weed farmers, allowing them to get away with unchecked land development.

This comes at a time when federal action has brought “renewed chaos” to California’s marijuana industry. The IRS and DEA punish dispensaries indiscriminately, giving advantage to those who can operate under less ethical means. The combined effect of these raids and local authorities’ inability to regulate has pushed some who want to operate ethically out of the market, clearing the path for drug cartels to set up huge operations in the region.

This inaction is spelling disaster for the region around the Emerald Triangle. Without state-level guidelines and enforcement, farms are implicitly being allowed to institute practices that are harmful to the local environment, as well as potentially dangerous for the end user.