As emission trends in the U.S. continue, noticeable impacts of increasing global temperatures are beginning to hit home. Between 1958 and 2012, the Northeast has experienced a more than 70% increase in heavy precipitation. Resources like maple syrup is expected to shrink within the U.S and proceed to be pushed further up north towards Canada, making maple syrup a imported delicacy. Aside from damaging effects on regional economies such as dairy production, where warmer conditions cause heat stress in farm animals, which reduce milk yields and calf birth rates, climate change makes a big impact on human health as well. Higher temperatures can cause an increase in heat-related deaths and decrease in air quality. Those with pre-existing respiratory conditions, such as asthma, are at greatest risk next to young children and the elderly. Population in urban areas are projected to increase in the coming years. Due to denser population and human activity, city areas, like New York, will become warmer. This is called the heat island effect, which can also add a strain on our cooling infrastructure; adding greater risk of heat-related deaths.
CONSEQUENCES
SCOTUS Poised to Handcuff the EPA
In the wake of reactionary rulings by the Supreme Court that seized a woman’s right to abortion after the Justices had unleashed potentially lethal freedoms to gun owners, one can only shudder at the prospect of the court’s upcoming decision on West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Abby Luby
June 27, 2022
