COLUMBUS -- Environment Ohio has released a new report "What's at Stake: How Global Warming Threatens the Buckeye State." The report details the environmental and economic harms that may result from Ohio's changing climate.
"It's not just about the polar bears and Arctic ice-caps anymore," said Amy Gomberg, Environment Ohio's program director. "Climate change poses threats to Ohio's environment that could have a negative impact on our economy, as well."
"Not only could climate change lower the water level in Lake Erie, damaging Ohio's fishing, shipping and tourism industries, but it also could harm Ohio's agriculture and timber industries."
Because in large part to the fact that approximately 86 percent of Ohio's electricity is generated by burning coal, Ohio is now the fourth largest contributor of carbon dioxide pollution in the country.Only 23 countries contribute more carbon dioxide pollution into the atmosphere than Ohio.Carbon dioxide is the leading pollutant contributing to our changing climate.
If carbon pollution is left unchecked, and continues to rise at current rates, a plethora of environmental problems that could have a further impact on Ohio's economy may develop.
"As part of any strategy to prudently and responsibly manage the risks of climate change, Ohio will have no choice but to limit its greenhouse gas emissions," said Dr. Andrew Keeler, an economist with The Ohio State University's John Glenn School of Public Affairs. "Congress and the new Administration need to act as soon as possible to incorporate a price for greenhouse gas emissions into our market economy to address this problem efficiently.
"Ohio should be forward-looking in its approach to energy conservation and generation in order to prepare for a strong and prosperous future. In particular, our state should take advantage of and contribute to the parts of a likely economic stimulus plan that spur investments in clean energy and green infrastructure."
Brenda Culler, of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Coastal Management, agreed Lake Erie water fluctuations are a significant issue for the Northcoast business climate in a myriad of ways.
But, "Our office itself doesn't get into the research of the climate change," she said. ODNR stays abridged of level issues through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Culler explained.
Brent M. Lofgren, of NOAA, gave a presentation to state and local officials Nov. 6 at the Coastal Resources Advisory Council at the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center.
The powerpoint centered on global warming and concluded with the major impact facing the Great Lakes:
Temperature/thermal structure -- suitability of different species and communities, timing of overturning, tourism
"A reduction in ice is a more robust expectation than changes in lake levels," Lofgren said regarding his research. "There has been a history, sort of a popular consensus, that lake levels are going down. But i am getting results that go against that."
Overall, the warming of the water temperature could be a major issue.
Lake Erie is the shallowest of all the Great Lakes. "So it tends to have more of a distribution of gases, oxygen vertically. When it doesn't that can lead to a dead zone."
That occurs when there is not an exchange of water near the surface with plenty of oxygen. As a result, organic material at the bottom, say dead algae for instances, consumes available oxygen. "And fish swimming through the area, well, they are out of luck," Lofgren said.
Many threats are posed to Lake Erie's $16 billion commercial shipping, commercial and recreational fishing and tourism industries, according Environmental Ohio officials.
The report revealed that reduced ice cover on Lake Erie during the winter, and increased water temperatures year round will lead to greater water evaporation from Lake Erie and a decrease in its overall water levels. Some studies show that the Lake's water level could fall by between 3 and 6.5 feet in the next 70 years, shifting the shoreline up to several miles in shallow areas of the lake, particularly in Sandusky and Maumee bays.
This could have a devastating impact on the Ohio's shipping industry because every inch that Lake Erie drops commercial ships must leave behind 270 tons of cargo.