NEW ORLEANS – A study looking at the potential impact of global warming on the states has projected that Michigan could see an impact in terms of billions of dollars in lost trade as a result of lower Great Lakes levels alone.
The report, which looks at the impact on a number of other states as well, was issued at the opening of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ summit in New Orleans.
With the first tropical storm of the 2008 season poised to come ashore from the Gulf of Mexico, legislators and staff members are expecting to deal with the stormy issues of energy, state finances and immigration during the four-day meeting.
The effect of potential climate change through global warming – a subject still hotly challenged by some – was included in the meeting through a study the NCSL developed along with the Center for Integrated Environmental Research at the University of Maryland that found the effect of warming on the various state’s economies could be significant.
Lake levels in the Great Lakes have fallen in recent years and the study said if levels continue to fall, then the annual cost of dredging operations could rise to between $92 million and $154 million. Detroit’s port alone could see economic losses of more than $140 million annually, which would cost another 1,500 jobs.
And the loss of exports from Michigan could mean job losses of 13,000 along with more than $2 billion in economic activity.
In addition, the combination of both more precipitation and an overall hotter, drier climate could lead to agriculture losses of as much as $20 billion annually in Michigan just due to soil erosion, the study said, along with losses in fishing tourism and snowmobiling.
In other issues before the annual meeting, since the gulf is a major supplier of oil to the United States, a number of discussions will deal with how the states are coping with energy costs, both in terms of their own budgets and how their local economies are being affected.
The issue has taken on some new impetus with the call by presumptive Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain and Congressional Republicans to allow for the states to decide if they will permit new offshore drilling for oil. During the session Shell Oil President Marvin Odum and Environmental Trust Fund President Fred Krupp are to square off on the issue.
On Wednesday, the annual report of state finances will be released at a press conference. Early indications are that the report will show more states in troubled financial conditions this year than last.
On Thursday, the organization will release a report on immigration, an issue that many states have been as involved in as has Congress.
The estimated 6,000 legislators and staff members will also hear from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell on a new drive to push greater investment in the nation’s infrastructure.
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