Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




CLIMATE SCIENCE
Report sees hefty cost of climate change on US economy
by Staff Writers
New York (AFP) June 24, 2014


Both sides claim victory in Supreme Court case on EPA authority
Washington (UPI) Jun 24, 2013 - A Supreme Court decision on the Environmental Protection Agency's authority over emissions earned rare claims of victory from both sides of the debate.

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision the EPA overstepped its authority in certain provisions of the Clean Air Act that cover emissions from all new or modified power plants and by changing the emissions thresholds for greenhouse gases, an action the court said only Congress could take.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the interests of the energy sector, said the high court's decision eases the EPA's grip over refineries and other production sources.

"It is a stark reminder that the EPA's power is not unlimited," API vice president and general counsel Harry Ng said in a statement Monday.

The court's decision means the EPA can still oversee more than 80 percent of all greenhouse gases emitted nationwide from stationary sources.

David Doniger, director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the court upheld the "most important" parts of the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act, those related to carbon pollution emitted by automobiles and power plants.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the lead opinion in the case, said the "EPA is getting almost everything it wanted in this case."

The US faces huge economic costs from climate change, including massive property loss from sea-level rise and major declines in some crop yields, according to a bipartisan report released Tuesday.

The report, titled "Risky Business" and backed by former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin and others, said the price of continued US policy foot-dragging on climate change will vary by region.

Based on current trends, between $66 billion and $106 billion of existing coastal property will be below sea level by 2050, with as much as $507 billion worth below sea level by 2100, the report said. The worst impacts are forecast in the eastern seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast.

More extreme heat will weigh the economy. By the middle of the century, the average American will likely see 27 to 90 days over 95 degrees Fahrenheit each year, two or three times more than the average over the last 30 years.

This shift will hit productivity in construction, agriculture and other outdoor occupations, the report said. The impact will be worst in the southwest, southeast and upper midwest, where demand for air conditioning will surge.

Hotter weather could also result in a fall in average annual crop yields of 50-70 percent in the southeast, lower Great Plains and midwest of such goods as corn, soy, cotton and wheat, the report said.

While food systems are generally resilient at a national level, the shifts "still carry risks for the individual farming communities most vulnerable to projected climatic changes," the report said.

The report, released by Paulson and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and billionaire Democratic donor and climate activist Thomas Steyer, said the response of the agriculture industry, bond markets and other pockets of the economy show climate change is beginning to be addressed by decision-makers.

"But business still tends to respond only to the extent that these risks intersect with short term financial and planning decisions," the report said.

"American businesses should play an active role in helping the public sector determine how best to react to the risks and costs posed by climate change, and how to set the rules that move the country forward in a new, more sustainable direction."

The report called for more muscular US policy to cut emissions and adapt to a changing climate. But it did not include specific proposals or discuss leading controversies, such as the debate on the Keystone pipeline.

.


Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








CLIMATE SCIENCE
Court mostly backs US effort to cut greenhouse gases
Washington (AFP) June 23, 2014
The Supreme Court on Monday nibbled away at President Barack Obama's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions but broadly upheld the effort to fight climate change. Responding to a lawsuit by energy businesses, the top US court took issue with one root argument of the Obama administration - that the Environmental Protection Agency has the power under the landmark Clean Air Act to rest ... read more


CLIMATE SCIENCE
NASA LRO's Moon As Art Collection Is Revealed

Solar photons drive water off the moon

55-year old dark side of the moon mystery solved

New evidence supporting moon formation via collision of 2 planets

CLIMATE SCIENCE
NASA Invites Comment on Mars 2020 Environmental Impact Statement

Opportunity is exploring the west rim of Endeavour Crater

Discovery of Earth's Northernmost Perennial Spring

US Congress and Obama administration face obstacles in Mars 2030 project

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Elon Musk plans to take people to Mars within 10 years

Moon to see first tourists by 2017, single roundtrip ticket costs $150 mln

NASA Turns Down the Volume on Rocket Noise

Duo Tries on Spacesuits While Advanced Microgravity Science Continues

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Chinese lunar rover alive but weak

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover 'alive but struggling'

Chinese space team survives on worm diet for 105 days

Moon rover Yutu comes closer to public

CLIMATE SCIENCE
A Laser Message from Space

D-Day for the International Space Station

US expects to continue partnership with Russia on ISS after 2020

Station Crew Wraps Up Week With Medical Research

CLIMATE SCIENCE
SpaceX to launch six satellites all at once

Arianespace A World Leader In The Satellite Launch Market

Airbus Group and Safran To Join Forces in Launcher Activities

European satellite chief says industry faces challenges

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Mega-Earth in Draco Smashes Notions of Planetary Formation

Kepler space telescope ready to start new hunt for exoplanets

Astronomers Confounded By Massive Rocky World

Two planets orbit nearby ancient star

CLIMATE SCIENCE
A breakthrough in creating invisibility cloaks, stealth technology

Oracle adds Micros for $5.3 bn to boost cloud effort

Ghost writing the whip

NASA's Science Mission Directorate Cubesat Initiative




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.