Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 24 OcTOber 2017
GAO: Climate change already costing U.S. billions in losses

By MICHAEL BIESECKER Great Plains are suscep-
Associated Press tible to decreased crop
WASHINGTON (AP) — yields, the report said. The
A non-partisan federal west is expected to see in-
watchdog says climate creased drought, wildfires
change is already costing and deadly heatwaves.
U.S. taxpayers billions of dol- Advance copies were pro-
lars each year, with those vided to the White House
costs expected to rise as and the Environmental
devastating storms, floods, Protection Agency, which
wildfires and droughts be- provided no official com-
come more frequent in the ments for inclusion in the
coming decades. GAO report.
A Government Account- Requests for comment
ability Office report re- from The Associated Press
leased Monday said the also received no response
federal government has on Monday.
spent more than $350 bil- President Donald Trump
lion over the last decade has called climate change
on disaster assistance pro- a hoax, announcing his
grams and losses from flood intent to withdraw the
and crop insurance. That Sarah Boryszewski is helped by her father Gerald Peete as they dig for belongings in the remains United States from the
tally does not include the of Boryszewski’s home in Coffey Park, Friday Oct. 20, 2017 in Santa Rosa, Calif. Paris climate accords and
massive toll from this year’s Associated Press revoke Obama-era initia-
three major hurricanes and
wildfires, expected to be ernment could take the
among the most costly in initial step in establishing
the nation’s history. government-wide priorities
The report predicts these to manage such risks.”
costs will only grow in the GAO undertook the study
future, potentially reaching following a request from
a budget busting $35 billion Republican Sen. Susan Col-
a year by 2050. The report lins of Maine and Sen. Ma-
says the federal govern- ria Cantwell of Washing-
ment doesn’t effectively ton, the ranking Democrat
plan for these recurring on the Senate Committee
costs, classifying the finan- on Energy and Natural Re-
cial exposure from climate- sources.
related costs as “high risk.” “This nonpartisan GAO re-
“The federal government port Senator Cantwell and
has not undertaken strate- I requested contains aston-
gic government-wide plan- ishing numbers about the
ning to manage climate consequences of climate
risks by using information change for our economy
on the potential economic and for the federal budget
effects of climate change in particular,” said Collins.
to identify significant risks “In Maine, our economy is
and craft appropriate fed- inextricably linked to the In this Oct. 14, 2017 file photo, an aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighbor-
eral responses,” the study environment. We are ex- hood after a wildfire swept through it in Santa Rosa, Calif.
said. “By using such infor- periencing a real change Associated Press
mation, the federal gov- in the sea life, which has
serious implications for the tives to curb greenhouse
livelihoods of many people gas emissions. Trump has
across our state, including also appointed officials
those who work in our icon- such as EPA Administrator
ic lobster industry.” Scott Pruitt, Energy Secre-
The report’s authors re- tary Rick Perry and Interior
viewed 30 government Secretary Ryan Zinke, all of
and academic studies ex- whom question the scien-
amining the national and tific consensus that carbon
regional impacts of cli- released into the atmo-
mate change. They also in- sphere from burning fossil
terviewed 28 experts famil- fuels is the primary driver of
iar with the strengths and global warming.
limitations of the studies, Earlier this month Trump
which rely on future projec- nominated Kathleen Hart-
tions of climate impacts to nett White of Texas to serve
estimate likely costs. as his top environmental
The report says the fiscal adviser at the White House.
impacts of climate change She has credited the fossil
are likely to vary widely by fuel industry with “vastly
region. The Southeast is improved living conditions
at increased risk because across the world” and lik-
of coastal property that ened the work of main-

In this Oct. 13, 2017 file photo, a row of chimneys stand in a neighborhood devastated by a wild- could be swamped by stream climate scientists to
fire near Santa Rosa, Calif. storm surge and sea lev- “the dogmatic claims of
Associated Press el rise. The Midwest and ideologues and clerics.”q