Ensuring security and creating an environment where Hoosiers can thrive are the most basic responsibilities of government. Climate change both threatens our security and presents economic opportunity.
The Indiana Senate Environmental Affairs Committee is considering Senate Bill 335, which would create a climate solutions task force. Championed by the youth group Confront the Climate Crisis, the task force would study and make recommendations relating to the impact of climate change on Hoosiers.
Climate change is commonly associated with threats like more intense storms, flooding, droughts, and wildfires. More specifically to Indiana, the Purdue Climate Change Resource Center predicts Indiana will have wetter springs, which will create uncertainty and challenges for our farmers when seeding their crops. Extended drought conditions in the summer and warmer winters allow for new pests to move north will create additional challenges for farm yields. Indiana should plan and prepare.
According to Purdue’s Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment, extreme rainfall events have increased markedly since 1990. Increased rainfall and severe storms, combined with shrinking wetland protection increase the risk of flooding. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, past flooding events and extreme storms have cost Indiana billions of dollars in property damages and lost crop yields.
Given Indiana’s history with the great floods of 2008, 1937, and 1913, Indiana should plan and prepare.
Nationwide climate problems
And we don’t know what we don’t know. How will severe drought in the western parts of the United States and rising sea levels in low lying coastal regions affect migration among what is likely to be tens of millions of US citizens? For example, Lake Mead, which provides essential water resources affecting nearly 25 million people in Arizona, Nevada, California and New Mexico, is 182 feet below full levels. There is real concern that the reservoir as a source for both water and needed power generation will be lost.
The Urban Land Institute predicts that over $3 billion of property damage will occur in Miami-Dade County in southern Florida by 2040, and Dr. Harold Wanless, geologist and professor of geography and sustainable development at University of Miami, predicts nearly 60% of Miami-Dade will be underwater by 2060. Miami-Dade currently has a population of 2.6 million, what impact will this have on US internal migration?
What’s more, more than 3 million adults were forced to evacuate their homes in 2022 due to natural disasters, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While Indiana will face its own challenges, by comparison, our state will remain relatively stable and may become a sought-after destination by those looking for relative climate stability. Indiana should plan and prepare.
Indiana’s economy is already changing as a result of climate change with over $2.5 billion of electric vehicle investments in 2022. Major businesses are demanding renewable energy sources and Indiana must look forward to a shift to manufacturing of electric vehicles and battery technology. There is economic opportunity for states that plan and prepare.
Youth involvement
Hoosier youth who make up Confront the Climate Crisis have shown tremendous leadership and determination to bring the Climate Solutions Task Force bill to the point where it will receive a hearing. In a study published in The Lancet, a peer review medical journal, around 70% of people aged 16-25 are “extremely worried” or “very worried” about climate change. This concern is reflected in the heavy lift Confront the Climate Crisis has made with SB 335. Indiana youth are asking our legislators, to plan and prepare.
It is now time for leadership in the state legislature on this issue. Momentum is building for this bipartisan bill. Senate Republicans Ron Alting (Lafayette), Dan Dernulc (Highland), Jon Ford (Terre Haute), Eric Bassler (Washington), and Vaneta Becker (Evansville) have signed on as authors or co-authors. Democratic Senator Shelli Yoder (Bloomington) authored and introduced the bill and Democratic Senator Fady Qaddoura (Marion) has also signed on as co-author while Democratic Senators David Niezgodski (South Bend) and Greg Taylor (Marion) who serve on the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee have voiced their support.
Hoosier Environmental Council encourages those remaining Senators on the Senate Environmental Affairs Committee to support this Climate Solutions Task Force legislation. It is time for leadership on this important issue. It is time for Indiana to plan and prepare.