The least talked-about impact of climate change is its looming effect on the Island economy. I know why we are avoiding it — it is frightening, and we’ve got enough to worry about. Yet every one of us will take a hit. It is better to know what is coming so we can prepare for it.
As we all know, home insurance is becoming harder and more expensive to obtain. The Martha’s Vineyard Times has reported that according to a U.S. Senate advisory committee, the Vineyard has seen the third highest rate of dropped homeowners’ insurance in the country.
And that is just the most glaring hit.
Consider this statement: “Beaches are already shrinking. Homes are being lost to the sea. Properties are being flooded. More frequent high waves will damage formerly untouched areas. Coastal wetlands may disappear. If the area environment declines … the economy will suffer … the implications from such changes are mind-boggling.”
This statement was not written about the Vineyard, but it clearly could have been. It is from a 2016 report entitled “Understanding Climate Change and Impacts to Tourism in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.”
Here is a glimpse at the economic impacts we likely face here on Martha’s Vineyard:
- Town budget shortfalls from the loss of property tax income when buildings are lost due to storms and sea level rise
- The high cost of adaptation projects, such as raising coastal roads or replacing them with inland routes
- Job loss after extreme weather events (according to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40 percent of small businesses don’t survive extreme weather events)
- Loss of recreational income from beach erosion
- Declines in pond water quality due to warming water
- Cost-of-living increases (food, insurance, taxes)
- Loss of ecosystem services, such as salt marshes, which absorb and contain floodwaters and are at risk of inundation from sea level rise
- A decline in coastal real estate values and the trickle-down effect on local businesses
- Repairs to weather-damaged homes (not covered by insurance)
- Flooded basements and increased mold due to heavier rains
- Outdoors workers’ lost work time due to increased heat; increased cost to customers
- The cost of medical care for increased vector-borne diseases (ticks and mosquitoes), heat impacts such as heat stroke and cardiovascular illness, and respiratory illness (more mold, pollen, poor air quality, and wildfire smoke)
- Salt-water intrusion into private wells as the sea rises
Ours is a visitor-based economy. It lacks diversity. We suffer in times of trouble, such as during recessions. When we get hit with an extreme weather disaster — a major hurricane or wildfire — the impacts will be enormous.
It’s critical for us to have a clear understanding of the specific economic impacts we face from the changing climate.
The Cape Cod Commission produced a report, “Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Cape Cod,” that documents the impacts of climate change to the Cape Cod community. The report articulates the costs associated with climate change impacts, stresses the need for immediate fiscal planning, and provides a data tool for use in grant applications for town and regional climate-related projects.
This spring, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) will apply for a grant to fund a similar report for the Vineyard.
The name of this column, “Climate Connections,” was purposefully chosen. Frances Beinecke, former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, says, “I have long understood that climate change is not only an environmental issue — it is a humanitarian, economic, health, and justice issue as well.”
On another, more positive note, check out the newly revised Climate Action Plan website, “The Vineyard Way”: thevineyardway.org.
Liz Durkee is the climate change coordinator at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.
