The Costs of Climate Change

Re: "Snow weighs heavily on municipal budgets," The Portland Press Herald, 02/26/2013.

Photo from the Portland Press Herald.

Maine communities would do well to start allocating more money for snow removal services. This year's record one-two-three punch of snowstorms in the last three weeks alone is no aberration. It is the new normal for winters in Maine and elsewhere.

As counter intuitive as it may seem, global warming is actually causing more snowstorms and blizzards. This is because warm air holds more moisture. While there has been less overall snowfall this year, there have been more--and more frequent--blizzards. These are the findings of a soon-to-be-released study by climate scientists.

Here's the thing about climate change: It's going to end up costing us a lot of money. And the longer we delay meaningful action to curb greenhouse gases, the more money it is going to end up costing us. I believe it is only when the tangible impacts of climate change begin to personally affect their wallets (in the form of higher taxes or greater costs for municipal services) that conservatives and climate change deniers will begin taking the threat seriously. (And by "taking the threat seriously," I mean acknowledging the threat exists.)

The fact that there is no mention of global warming in this article is further indicative of what I term the Great Disconnect that afflicts society. Meanwhile, pompous, ignorant blowhards like this guy, spew their idiocy all over the Internet.