The Climate Change Conundrum

For many people, the jury is still out on whether climate change is a man-made phenomenon, or even if it exists at all, and if so, that it is responsible for the spate of devastating weather and wildfires the world has experienced over the past decade.

Still, it does seem that “freak” weather catastrophes are occurring more and more frequently, and there’s no question that their impact has been devastating in terms of loss of lives, property damage and mounting recovery costs.

In 2012, there were 11 recorded billion-dollar weather events, according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. The 14 billion-dollar weather catastrophes in 2011 were record-setting. The previous record for billion-dollar events was nine, set in 2008, according to NOAA. By contrast, there were no billion-dollar weather-related catastrophes in 1987.

The historic drought of 2012, which parched the central United States with an unrelenting heat wave that dried up crops and reduced the water flow in the Mississippi River to the extent that commercial traffic was temporarily halted, was one of those billion-dollar events.

One agricultural risk management expert, G.A. “Art” Barnaby, of Kansas State University Extension, said last September that crop insurance claims alone could reach as high as $25 billion for 2012, largely due to drought conditions.

Unfortunately the drought seems to be lingering into 2013, as the government recently declared much of the central and southern U.S. Wheat Belt a natural disaster area due to persistent drought threatening the winter wheat harvest.

Oklahoma experienced its hottest year on record last year and officials in the north-central part of the state have declared a state of emergency due to record-low reservoir conditions.

All this brings us to what is sure to be a politically-charged commitment by President Barack Obama to confront climate change during his second term in office.

In his inaugural address, President Obama linked climate change to catastrophic weather and devastating wildfires.

“Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms,” President Obama said.

He acknowledged that the fight would be long and difficult, but that ultimately America’s leadership in mitigating the emission of greenhouse gasses would lead to an “economic vitality” with the creation of new jobs and industries.

It will be interesting to see if the country is willing accept the challenge and take a long-term approach to the climate change conundrum.