National Conference Of State Legislatures Issues State-Specific Outlines Of Long-Term Climate Shocks

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Link to study homepage:

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/environ/ClimatePubs.htm

Kansas:

Agricultural exports accounted for $3.29 billion, or about 3 percent of the Kansas gross domestic product (GDP). The agriculture industry provides 40,000 jobs, employing about 2 percent of the state workforce.15 Although the government and manufacturing sectors represent the largest shares of the state GDP, the cultural and traditional significance of Kansas farming reaches beyond crops and agricultural workers.

Increased flooding would be destructive to the agricultural sector and could cost as much as $150 million annually by 2032.16
More destructive flooding would have effects that extend beyond the agricultural sector. Economic models predict an additional loss of $87 million and more than 700 jobs per year.17

Changes in winter temperatures and precipitation create favorable conditions for invasive species. Kansas crop losses due to invasive species are estimated at approximately $871 million annually.18 A 1 percent per year increase in the persistence of invasive species
could cause $58 million in damages to other economic sectors and a loss of more than 400 jobs in agricultural and other economic sectors by 2017.19

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Increased temperatures will increase electricity use since air conditioners will be working harder to keep homes and buildings cool. Since most household energy in Kansas comes from coal-fired power plants that emit air pollutants, increased energy consumption would drive up emissions, increasing the health risks for those with respiratory illnesses. Rising temperatures also could increase the frequency of vector and rodent-borne diseases in the United States. For example, increasing temperatures have the potential to increase the length of the transmission season of Dengue fever in temperate regions such as Kansas. Studies have shown a positive correlation between increased rainfall and rodent populations that carry diseases such as the plague, hantavirus and leptospirosis.22

EDIT

http://www.ncsl.org/print/environ/ClimatechangeKS.pdf


NEVADA

Population growth and development drive Nevada’s economy, increasing the needs for drinking water, recreation and hydroelectric power. Two million people rely on Lake Mead for daily water needs. The lake level has dropped considerably during the last 20 years, however, making it difficult to meet rising demand (see Figure 1). As of October 2007, both Lake Mead and Lake Powell, another major provider of Nevada water, stood at only 49 percent capacity.9 Researchers at the Scripps Institution for Oceanography estimate that there is a 10 percent chance that Lake Mead will dry up by 2021 and a 50 percent chance it will be dry by 2050. Increased water consumption, evaporation and decreased water flow from the Colorado River have placed unsustainable strains on this water resource, and climate change is likely to exacerbate the problem. Without Lake Mead, it will become difficult for much of the region to deal with sustained droughts that may occur, leaving between 12 million to 36 million people without a secure water supply.10

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As water resources such as Lake Mead dwindle and possibly dry up, water resources will need to be directed to existing commercial and residential sites and could constrain further development. This would be a serious economic setback, since construction and related industries employ 17 percent of Nevada’s workforce—about 157,000 people.13 In 2004, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA)
commissioned a study to explore the economic effects of restricting development and reducing population growth to manage water resources. According to the study, a reduction in Nevada construction-related sectors of 65 percent of the current level would translate into a loss of $18.6 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue. Over 14 years, this translates into $3.6 billion in lost revenue for state and local governments.14 The resulting decrease in consumption and labor availability would cause an estimated loss of $4.7 billion per year in wages, while the value of services and goods not produced could total $182.6 billion during this period.15

Halting economic development in Nevada obviously may not be economically viable. Four years after the SNWA study, drought continues, and water shortages, despite water conservation efforts, continue to pose severe problems for developers who are attempting to gain water rights for new housing and business development. A proposed solution to such water shortages involves constructing pipelines from eastern Nevada where water resources are available to the Las Vegas area at a cost of $3.5 billion.

EDIT

http://www.ncsl.org/print/environ/ClimatechangeNV.pdf