By 2050, the U.S. will lose $83 billion a year because of all the nature we've destroyed
Turns out, we use a lot of natural processes—bees to pollinate, rivers to irrigate crops, reefs to act as flood protection. When they’re gone, it’s going to get expensive.
The world economy depends on nature, from coral reefs that protect coastal cities from flooding to insects that pollinate crops. But by the middle of the century, the loss of key “ecosystem services” could cost the world $479 billion each year. The U.S. will lose more than any other country, with an $83 billion loss to the GDP per year by 2050.
That’s a conservative estimate. The projection comes from a report, called Global Futures, from World Wildlife Fund, which looked at only six of the services that nature provides and how those might change because of the impacts of climate breakdown, lost wildlife habitat, and other human-caused destruction of nature. (Many other services will also be impacted but can’t currently be accurately modeled; the study also doesn’t take into account the possibility of tipping points that lead to sudden, catastrophic losses of natural services.) By 2050, if the world continues on its current path, the global economy could lose $327 billion a year as we lose natural coastal protection from coral reefs, mangrove forests, and other natural systems. Another $128 billion could be lost annually from forests and peatlands that store carbon. Agriculture could lose $15 billion from lost pollinators and $19 billion from reduced water availability. Food costs are likely to go up, threatening food security in some regions.
In the U.S., the biggest losses will come from lost coastal protection and losses in marine fisheries. Because of the size of the U.S. economy, it will lose most in absolute terms. But developing countries will be hit hardest in terms of the percentage of GDP lost; Madagascar tops that list, followed by Togo, Vietnam, and Mozambique.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90463133/by-2050-the-u-s-will-lose-83-billion-a-year-because-of-all-the-nature-weve-destroyed
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grim joke! It's going to be a full-on starvation scenario, with millions of coastal refugees tent camping everywhere and more millions simply dying of hunger, gun violence and disease.
I fear the intentional detonation of nuclear weapons to create areas that refugees would be unable to cross, or worse yet, the triggering of direct nuclear confrontations between nations over the immigration issues in the future.
We are riding on such a dangerous precipice and with the equivalent of a drunk driver at the wheel...literally ANYTHING is possible with this situation and the things we once thought impossible are actually drifting into the probable territory.
