Climate change report: Costs more to do nothing

It will, it won’t, what if we do, what if we don’t...Another volley Wednesday in the whipsaw back-and-forth on the cost (or not) of climate change. This time, it came from researchers from Tufts University in Boston, sponsored by the activist group Environmental Defense. The report, Florida and Climate Change: The Costs of Inaction, argued that Florida stands to lose billions of dollars in tourism and coastal property if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated.

Experts have issued competing conclusions about the issue, with a recent report by the Florida and U.S. Chambers of Commerce that concluded that Florida’s economy would suffer if the state moved to quickly to curb greenhouse gases. The dueling conclusions mirror a divide between state lawmakers, some of whom side with Gov. Charlie Crist’s aggressive efforts to combat climate change, and those that agree with state House Speaker Marco Rubio, that Floridian’s can’t afford to move so fast.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer