Climate Change Analysis Predicts Losses for South
Scientists and economists have put together a detailed new analysis of potential economic damage from climate change in the United States. The study, published in the journal “Science,” uses decades of data to make predictions down to the county level. One takeaway: Alabama and the rest of the South could suffer more than other parts of the country. Higher energy bills, crop failures, and heat strokes are just some of the factors that will hurt economies across the South, according to the study.
The University of California at Berkeley’s James Rising, who co-authored the report, says, “Alabama stands to lose about three times the national average in its income, and that’s mostly driven by big increases in death rates.”
That can include mortality from heatwaves and associated diseases and accidents. The study predicts climate-change-related deaths in Alabama will roughly double those from car accidents by the end of the century. It also forecasts that the wealth gap between North and South will widen.
“What we find is that climate change is going to exacerbate inequality,” says Rising, “both because the South is already hotter and poorer, and because the North is actually going to, in some areas, get benefits from milder winters.”
But in Alabama, addressing climate change is not a political priority.
John Christy, Alabama’s State Climatologist, explains to companies thinking about moving to Alabama how the local climate can work to their advantage. And he says the study is just wrong.
“Climate models just aren’t reliable in terms of telling us about what’s going on now and what’s going on in the future,” he says. “The evidence for a disastrously changing climate is pretty thin.”
One thing Christy and the study authors agree on is the need to be prepared for hot and extreme weather. James Rising says there are many ways to do that. “Cities can paint the tops of their buildings white. They can plant more green spaces, make sure that they have plenty of water and air conditioning. And farmers can make sure that they invest in irrigation,” he says.
Rising says the new study is meant to help businesses, government, and other institutions better assess climate risks and make “more rational policies … We’re not trying to describe some kind of catastrophe that’s going to at some point just ‘click on.’ Climate change is going to become progressively more and more damaging and going to impact more more people, and having in hand the kind of kind of understanding that lets you choose as a society how much you’re willing to lose can really help make for better policy making.”
Alcohol poisoning deaths in Laos renew concerns about methanol. Here’s what to know
The U.S., Australia and U.K. have issued warnings for travelers in Vang Vieng after several tourists died in a suspected methanol poisoning outbreak.
Trump taps Brooke Rollins of America First Policy Institute for agriculture secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Brooke Rollins, head of the America First Policy Institute, to oversee the Department of Agriculture. She has a long history in conservative politics.
Winter storms sweep across the U.S. while a new system is expected for Thanksgiving
A major storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, while on the opposite side of the country blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday.
Infant dies and 10 others sick in latest listeria outbreak tied to ready-to-eat meat
The cases appeared in California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York between July 31 and Oct. 24, the CDC said. Nine out of the 11 infected individuals were hospitalized.
NATO head and Trump meet in Florida for talks on global security
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and the head of NATO, Mark Rutte, met on Friday in Palm Beach for talks on global security, the military alliance said Saturday.
Climate change plays a role in global rise of dengue fever
Over 12 million cases of dengue fever were reported in 2024, the most ever. A study suggests climate change has likely played a significant role in the disease's expansion.
