Thursday, April 19, 2007
WASHINGTON - Federal insurance programs for floods and crops have failed to anticipate more numerous and severe storms expected from global warming over the next century, threatening the government with liability for billions of dollars in claims, according to a Government Accountability Office report to be released today.
Auditors said the problem "may not constitute an immediate crisis," but "does have significant implications" for the federal budget. Private and federal insurers paid more than $320 billion for weather-related losses from 1980 to 2005, with the federal government covering about one-quarter of that total.
The GAO report will be released at a hearing today at the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. The top committee Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said the financial implications may get the attention of fiscal conservatives who have been less concerned with the environmental impact of climate change.
"This report shows us that global warming threatens to burden consumers and taxpayers with billions of dollars in additional cost, as insured losses cause increases in federal spending and insurance premiums," Collins said.
Coincidentally, the report is being released the same week as a ferocious storm struck the Maine coast, knocking out power to 125,000 Central Maine Power customers and flooding homes and roads across southern Maine.
"Whether or not this particular storm is linked to climate change, it's a sign of the future if the consensus is correct on what the future holds in store for us," Collins said.
Insurance programs for floods and crops are big business. Since 1980, private insurers paid $243.5 billion for weather-related claims. During the same period, federal crop insurance paid $43.6 billion and federal flood insurance paid $34.1 billion -- programs that generally weren't covered by private companies.
The flood-insurance program's potential claims exposure has quadrupled since 1980 to $1 trillion. Crop-insurance exposure has increased 26-fold to $44 billion.
In Maine, 500 to 600 farms have bought crop insurance each year for the last decade, insuring about 100,000 acres statewide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's risk management agency. Participation quadrupled in 1995 and then held relatively steady.
Last year, nearly all the 58,500 acres planted with potatoes were insured. About half the acreage for blueberries and apples was insured.
The value statewide of what is insured fluctuates from $50 million to $60 million. Claims that tend to cost $2 million to $3 million per year spiked in 2004 at $10 million.
For flooding, Mainers received $29.6 million in 2,687 claims from 1978 through Feb. 28, according to the National Flood Insurance Program.
The GAO report focuses on the concern that earth's average temperature warmed 0.74 degrees Celsius from 1906 to 2005.
Washington D.C. Correspondent Bart Jansen can be contacted at 791-6369 or at
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"The neoconservative agenda calls for generalized transference; i.e. - the pot calling the kettle black."report abuse
One truth that the liberals know, if you tell a lie enough times, people begin to believe it.report abuse
I'm pretty sure we've had nor'easters before, some of them pretty bad too.
How did they suddenly become a harbinger of impending doom from global warming? Didn't we hear that about the 2006 hurricane season? It was supposed to be terrible, worse than 2005 and Katrina.....how many hurricanes hit the US? I think it was....zero.
So, correct me if I'm wrong, if the consensus is that we're in for more nor'easters....I think that's a consensus we can all agree on. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess....unless Al Gore is your high priest and prophet....in that case we're doomed unless we de-populate the Earth and roll things back to the early Pleistocene Era.report abuse
It's amazing how gullible some people can be.
The overall liberal movement, however has a brilliant playbook.
First they patiently spent the past 25 years dumbing down America by systematically dismantling the public school system. Then they divide the population with silly red-herrings, then, when people can't think for themselves any more, they hold up their Messiah, Al-do as I say, not as I do-Gore, who couldn't go quietly and gently into the good night after having his hat handed to him in the 2000 election.
They come up with a few good video clips of polar bears floating on blocks of ice, and chunks of icebergs breaking off, some creative editing, some sad music and flashy graphics and viola! Instant moonbats!report abuse
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