A couple of new studies have come out showing a direct correlation between climate change and substantial increases in living expenses. One of the studies presented a hypothesis that children born this year will face an additional $500K in bills directly related to this problem during their lifetime.
With each additional degree of warming, the US is expected to take a larger economic hit. An example would be that a 2 Degree Fahrenheit increase doubles the economic impact of a 1 Degree Fahrenheit increase over time.
Particular areas of concern include…
1 – Food Prices
Climate change leads to droughts, which increases the cost of your weekly trip to the grocery store. Food prices are expected to rise 3% annually over the next decade.
2 – Housing
3M Americans have already been displaced by increased forest fires and hurricanes. States like Florida, Louisiana, and California have been hit the worst. SInce a significant amount of personal wealth is tied directly to housing, this is a substantial issue in future retirement planning.
3 – Insurance And HOA Fees
The aforementioned issues with disasters and climate risk have tripled these expenses in several areas. Major developers in Florida have left the state because many retirees simply can’t afford to live there anymore.
4 – Healthcare Costs
Hurricane Sandy hit the Mid-Atlantic Region in 2012 and led to 12,000 hospital visits. Increased hospital stays due to natural disasters is just one of the factors adding to annual insurance cost increases.
5 – Tax Increases
All three levels of government are expected to raise taxes in response to their increased costs and demand for services due to a warmer planet.
Let me leave you with this…
Other than having a larger electric bill during the summers, I’d never thought about climate change in this manner before I read these studies. The implications for the future are stunning.
Why? Because this is going to affect all of us.
Phoenix had 90 days last year where the temps were over 100 degrees. When you shop at outdoor malls in that fair city, they have water systems that spray mist on shoppers as they walk by. You might as well live directly on the sun.
Climatologists have forecasted that somewhere in the next 30 or 40 years, our climate will look like that of Phoenix. My people left the reservation in Arizona at the beginning of the Big One just to have the weather follow us.
Will we have the same problems with natural disasters as many of the other states? Probably not.
Hurricanes, mudslides, and forest fires aren’t a big problem here. But we seem to have had a lot more tornado warnings in the past couple of years.
And as people leave the East and West Coasts, where are they moving to? Many are coming here to the Midwest.
Something to think about from a planning standpoint…
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
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