Climate Change Policy

And How It Affects You — A Few Monday Readings

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“Now, new research [by the European Central Bank and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact] shows a warming planet is already increasing the price of food and could sharply drive up inflation in the years to come.”

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Since I wrote about the rising cost of food in my last post, I’ve gathered a few additional articles that discuss the relationship between our food prices and climate change, and the Biden administration’s approach to preventing even greater climate degradation. Also included here is a third article detailing the devastating financial cost of environmental disasters. Plus…a great Facebook Reel from Jon Stewart, one of my favorite Americans.

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— First up is a CBS News report that analyzes the relationship between climate change and soaring food prices. I put the link to this article on Notes just yesterday, but it bears an additional sharing because of its careful, science-based approach to linking the two current issues.

In the European Union, climate change is already pushing up food costs, the researchers [European Central Bank and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact] found. Last summer, repeated heat waves dried up the continent's rivers, snarling major shipping routes and devastating farmland…"The heat extremes of the 2022 summer in Europe is a prominent example in which combined heat and drought had widespread impacts on agricultural and economic activity."

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— This piece by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) discusses the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed a year ago this month. The article focuses on exactly how the IRA addresses the climate crisis and invests in our country’s clean energy future.

This is part of the restructuring of our economy to tackle climate change, increase high tech manufacturing (see the CHIPS Act) and close the wealth gap to rebuild the middle class, that are the Biden administration’s priorities.

The dominant strategy the IRA employs to lead the clean energy transition is subsidies—paying U.S. businesses, households, and even sub-national governments when they make investments that will lead to reduced [Green House Gas] GHG emissions.

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— Here’s a cheery update from Scripps News detailing the number and increasing frequency of extreme weather disasters that have hit the United States just this year. And each of these disasters, from severe winter storms to tornados and catastrophic flooding, have cost the U.S. in excess of $1 billion.

So far this year, the NOAA has tallied 15 individual weather and climate disasters, each with losses exceeding $1 billion. Note: I do not believe this calculation includes the recent, deadly fire in Maui.

These 15 disasters include 13 severe weather events, one winter storm, and one flooding event. According to the NOAA, the disasters are responsible for 113 fatalities and have produced nearly $40 billion in damages.

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— A last and perhaps most interesting take on the idea of corporate subsidies to encourage our country’s direction is from Jon Stewart…and he is dead on.

(Compare with the EPI article above touting the Biden administration’s strategy to encourage GHG reduction—at least the government is paying households with these subsidies, too).

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1324875188127180

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Let me know your thoughts on the articles, climate change and related ideas in the Comment Section below—I’d love to hear from you.

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