Oct. 19, 2007 The true economic cost of climate change in the U.S. remains uncounted, unplanned for, and largely hidden in public debate, says a new study from the University of Maryland.

"The U.S. Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction" notes that while much of the public debate has focused on the upfront costs of emission controls, there's been only limited research on subsequent expenses, such as rebuilding or preparing infrastructure to address the economic ripple effects on the agricultural, manufacturing, and public service sectors. This report aims to bridge that gap.

Five of the most surprising of these hidden effects are summarized by earth2tech blogger Katie Fehrenbacher:

1. The $31 million sugar maple industry is expected to lose up to 40% of its annual revenue due to decreases in sap flow.


2. Alaska may lost a tenth of its gross state produce thanks to spruce bark beetle infestations, which could reduce the state's harvestable timber by 50%.


3. Ten to twenty percent fewer skiing days could translate into an $810 loss for the ski industry.


4. California's dairy industry may face a $902 million annual loss due to a decrease in cows' productivity.


5. Agriculture all over the country is expected to take a serious hit. Water shortages in California's Central Valley alone could lead to $6 billion losses durinig the dryest years.

"Climate change will affect every American economically in significant, dramatic ways, and the longer it takes to respond, the greater the damage and the higher the costs," says lead researcher Matthias Ruth, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research. "The national debate is often framed in terms of how much it will cost to reduce greenhouse gases, with little or no consideration of the cost of no response or the cost of waiting. Review and analysis of existing data suggest that delay will prove costly and tip the economic scales in favor of quicker strategic action."

The report's authors say that estimating a total price tag for all the hidden costs is impossible at the moment, explaining that current techniques generally used by economists to measure the costs related to climate change are "ill-suited to a situation so complex and pervasive."