Climate Change- Pay now or pay later.

With the extremists on the right still screaming that climate change is a myth perpetuated by 'libruls', our government is still sitting on it's proverbial hands.

Inaction on this front could become very, very costly. It's the pay me now, or pay me a lot more later scenario. There is a new report out (pdf) that attempts to lay out what American's will end up paying if we don't get in gear and make sizable changes in how we deal with climate change NOW. From the Union of Concerned Scientists:

If global warming emissions continue to rise unabated, we will see growing costs related to climate change. This fact sheet reports some of the projected damages—to our coasts, our health, our energy and water resources, our agriculture, our transportation infrastructure, and our recreational resources—that will occur in states and regions throughout the United States.

Here in Cali's San Joaquin Valley, we already see the effects of climate change on agriculture, our number one job creator. The state is literally running out of water. Actually, it's been running out of water for years..decades even. We are now rationing water, which means the farmers are not getting enough water to plant all of their farmland.

This means fewer jobs and less food just for starters. From the MSNBC writeup in Feb of this year:

Federal water managers said Friday that they plan to cut off water, at least temporarily, to thousands of California farms as a result of the deepening drought gripping the state.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said parched reservoirs and patchy rainfall this year were forcing them to completely stop surface water deliveries for at least a two-week period beginning March 1. Authorities said they haven’t had to take such a drastic move for more than 15 years.

*snip*

Farmers in the nation’s No. 1 agriculture state predicted it would cause consumers to pay more for their fruits and vegetables, which would have to be grown using expensive well water.

“Water is our life — it’s our jobs and it’s our food,” said Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the farm bureau in Fresno County. “Without a reliable water supply, Fresno County’s No. 1 employer — agriculture — is at great risk.”

The drought would cause an estimated $1.15 billion dollar loss in agriculture-related wages and eliminate as many as 40,000 jobs in farm-related industries in the San Joaquin Valley alone, where most of the nation’s produce and nut crops are grown.

Any move by the Fed worsens the problem here in the valley. The state has already started rationing to all cities and farming areas. The Governator and the state assembly can not, for the life of them, come to an agreement on how to deal with the problem of not enough water. Fuckers are dancing around the problem and playing politics at the same time. From the Mercury-News link:

Democrats and Republicans have tangled over water issues for years, pushing off decisions while conditions have worsened for farmers, water districts and wildlife. The trouble is especially acute in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the water conduit for two-thirds of the state's residents.

Federal courts and agencies have ordered severe reductions in pumping to protect the delta's collapsing ecosystem.

During negotiations, lawmakers have disagreed over protection of water rights, mandatory conservation standards for cities, groundwater monitoring of private water supplies, who should make water decisions in the delta and how to pay for the infrastructure and restoration efforts requested by lawmakers.

So, we are damned if we do, damned if we don't solve this problem. How do you feel about paying 10 bucks for a pound of broccoli, or any other veggie or fruit grown here in Cali? The price hikes also hit the dairy and beef farmers as they are having a hard time finding feed for their cattle and cows at a price that doesn't bankrupt them. Guess what..they pass the costs on to us, the consumer.

Because the less we grow, the more you will pay for what is grown. The citizens of Cali are now paying exorbitant rates for their suburban water needs, plus higher food prices.

Sucks don't it? And the shit hasn't even hit the proverbial fan yet..not by a long-shot.

This post is part of the Blog Action Day on Climate Change.
 Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change