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The Infinite Impacts of Climate Change by City Tech Blogger Kaela Barzola

Agriculture significantly contributes to society, it is the art and science of cultivating the soil and raising livestock; providing endless benefits such as food, shelter, clothing, materials, as well as international trade. Unfortunately, climate change has the ability to disrupt aspects of agriculture. Climate change infers a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns. For instance, as the global temperatures rise it can negatively impact vegetation due to harsh weather conditions. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, projected increases in changes in precipitation patterns, changes in extreme weather events, and reduction in water availability may all result in reduced agricultural productivity. Specifically, flooding and drought impact agriculture because they pose risks to soil, crops, and livestock.  As stated in the article, “Increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events can also interrupt food delivery, and resulting spikes in food prices after extreme events are expected to be more frequent in the future.” However, agriculture is not suffering from climate change alone. The industry can also be negatively affected by climate change as well.

Climate change will have a variety of impacts on different industries directly or indirectly. The industries most at risk from climate change are insurance, businesses, energy, commercial fishing, and Wall Street. The threats that come from the physical environment, including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts etc, can all cause minor or major damage to several properties and forms of transportation. Hurricane Harvey that occurred in 2017 impacted major businesses, causing an estimated total of 125 billion in damages. It has been projected that the price will continue to rise in billions if we fail to take action against climate change. Due to shorter seasons causing a reduction in snowfall, ski resorts are financially suffering. It has been recorded that a majority of U.S. ski resorts could experience 50% shorter seasons by 2050, continuing to rise up to 80% by the year 2090. The energy industry is also at risk because of the influence of greener energy sources, the government is shifting to renewable energy sources. Tourism has also been a victim of climate change. In the United States, Turkey, and Australia there is a continuous loss of tourism income due to extreme weather events. The wildfires that have been occurring around the world make up large parts of the hiking regions, therefore making these areas unsafe for the population. Climate change continues to affect agriculture, industry, and tourism in several aspects. Individuals are able to respond and prepare themselves for the risks associated with climate change. Companies should incorporate climate risks as a core business risk, understanding that as climate change continues to escalate, they must be prepared for what follows.

People such as farmers, city dwellers and the poor are impacted tremendously by climate change. The differences in the ozone and greenhouse gasses play a role in agricultural production. Farmers’ risk rate continues to rise because they can potentially lose land, vegetation, customers, and their homes as well. Due to the unpredictable results of climate change, it can disrupt food supply, accessibility, quality, and supply. In addition, the supplies they would normally use to continue their agricultural work will become expensive. If the global temperatures continue to rise, it will reduce desirable crops, and instead help weeds to grow in the area. The poor are extremely vulnerable to the disasters of climate change. For instance, when individuals live in an area that has just been struck by an earthquake, hurricane, or any floods, they are at risk of losing everything. Some people are not fortunate enough to have extra money to afford any damage done to their property or personal items. Therefore, if a person’s home becomes completely destroyed because of a natural disaster, they are left with nothing. Some families rely solely on their personal vegetation as their only source of food, however, prolonged droughts devastate vegetation, causing families to face starvation.

image: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/04/ault-future-droughts-may-eclipse-those-past

CITES:

https://climatechange.chicago.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-agriculture-and-food-supply#:~:text=Climate%20change%20can%20disrupt%20food,result%20in%20reduced%20agricultural%20productivity.

https://www.zurich.com/en/knowledge/topics/climate-change/how-climate-change-will-impact-business-everywhere

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/04/ault-future-droughts-may-eclipse-those-past

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One Response

  1. This essay was very well put together. You have researched this topic very deeply and it shows with all the information that we get from this essay. I totally agree with all the topics you presented because I also spoke about the impact of it in certain areas more than others. In the part in the introduction where you said that international trade, they say that “Storms are expected to become more severe, with a variety of negative consequences for businesses. These could spread well beyond the obvious losses for insurance companies. International shipping could become more dangerous. Long-established agricultural regions could be decimated.” As we all know trade is extremely important especially here in the U.S, we get a lot of different spices, vegetables, fruits, etc through trade and if that were to slow down or even stop we would be facing an even worse economic situation than we have at the moment. The U.S is the largest trading nation in the world, it trades with over 200 countries, territories, and regional associations around the globe. Imagine if that were to be slowed down because of the drastic changes in the world due to climate change, it would be devastating not only for us but for all the countries we trade with as well. Overall your essay was very informative and I found a lot of things that are useful to know. The more we are aware of these things going on the more we can do in order to mitigate the fast climate change going on.

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