Do you ever think about what the world will look like in 100 years? Probably not very often. In our day-to-day lives it’s hard to step back and look into the distant future. It’s easier to just assume everything will keep on going the way it is now.
Unfortunately, the actions of our grandparents, parents, and now us will change the way the world looks and operates in the next century. The planet our grandchildren inherit will be shaped by the decisions we make today.
Some very smart people have recently been studying how the world will transform over the next century due to climate change. Their conclusion paints a bleak future where rising ocean tides, increasing temperatures and economic instability could easily match any of the popular dystopian realities we see in the movies, on the silver screen and in our favorite books.
Climate Change Is Coming
This week, the Risky Business Project, co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg, Henry Paulson and Tom Steyer released Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States. The report, composed by the economic research firm Rhodium Group, includes contributions from climate scientists, economists, and risk management experts. The entire report is available for free online for the masses to read, review, contemplate and debate.
At first glimpse the fifty-one page report is downright terrifying. According to the report, the next 100 years are likely to be wrought with natural disasters, climate changes and economic hardships that will severely impact American industry, food production and individual quality of life. Dotted with chilling stats like $106 billion dollars of coastal property could be underwater in the next century, certain parts of the country could experience months of temperatures above 95° and the crop loss could rocket as high as 70%, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Still Time To Halt The Worst
It’s easy to throw up your hands in defeat or grab a shovel and start digging your future underground home, but the report isn’t all doom and gloom. The important thing to remember as you read this report is that there is still time to make a change. Which we think is the whole point. There is still time for us to think about the quality of life we want for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and take steps to provide a bright green future for them.
One key to slowing the rate of climate change is to consider how we use and produce energy. According to the Risky Business Report, temperatures will continue to fluctuate to new highs in the coming decades, which will create a greater demand for electricity. Our current energy structure will be heavily taxed by this demand, which will lead to skyrocketing energy prices.
In fact, the climate change report estimates that the United States will need 200 average-sized coal and natural gas power plants to produce the 95GW of additional power that our people will need in the next 5 - 25 years. That’s right, not next 100 years, but the next 5 - 25 years, which is right around the corner. However, the construction of new power plants creates its own bag of problems. Our increased energy needs will cost billions of dollars, and the energy these plants produce don’t always come from environmentally friendly sources, which will only aggravate the problems of climate change. In addition to the need for more power plants, the ones we currently have will be at risk due to storm surges and hurricanes that are exasperated by climate changes.
Solar Solutions
Lucky for us, we can take actions today to help slow down the rate of climate change. One powerful way to lower energy needs and help reduce our reliance on harmful gas and goal power sources is through the adoption of solar energy. Solar power is a renewable source of energy that can and is becoming a leading energy producer in the United States. As the need for electricity increases, it’s clear that the cost will also go up thanks to supply and demand. Now is a great time to start thinking about how you can protect yourself and your family by considering solar energy for your home. Not only will you be helping yourself by lowering your monthly energy bill, you’ll also be able to take proactive steps to slow climate change. The United States currently creates 13,000 megawatts of power each year through solar panels, but we can significantly increase that amount if more homeowners invest in solar power. Every new panel is a little energy less we’ll need from coal and natural gas plants.
Adopting solar energy is just one step you can take to help combat the climate change risks we face. The Risky Business Report offers additional solutions, which include adopting new policies to combat climate change, business adaptation and investors adjustments. While at first glance the Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in The United States report offers a frightening spectacle of what our country could look like a century from today, it also poses an opportunity. It’s an opportunity for us to do better. While people will debate these findings, it would behoove us to embrace the “what ifs”. What if the report is right? Are we ready to pass a broken environment onto our children and their children? Do we want to be the generation that let our most precious resource – our planet – slip through our fingers? I hope that we take this opportunity to offer the kids of tomorrow a chance to play outside a few more days a year. Now is the time to make a change for the climate and the future. Don’t you think?
