skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Severe Job Losses Predicted Due to Climate Change

play audio
Play

Friday, February 26, 2016   

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Montana could lose thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in lost earnings by 2055 if nothing is done to slow climate change, according to a new report.

The study, released Wednesday by the Montana Farmers Union in collaboration with Power Consulting, said the Treasure State can expect 5 percent to 10 percent less rain in the summer, five to 15 more days above 95 degrees, and 20 to 40 fewer days below freezing in winter.

Report co-author Dr. Donovan Power, former chair of economics at the University of Montana, said the state cannot afford to ignore the problem.

"Implicitly, the cost of doing nothing in the face of ongoing climate change is often assumed to be zero," he said. "That's a very precise quantitative assumption that I think we know is wrong."

The report said the hotter temperatures will lead to less water for irrigation and, thus, a shorter summer growing season. It warned that farmers will have to combat new types of weeds and pests.

Erik Somerfeld, who grows wheat, barley and hay near the town of Power, said some of the changes are here now.

"Guys are already changing their farming practices," he said, "and they're trying to do what they can to mitigate the decreased rain and the hotter temperatures that are occurring."

Chris Christiaens, legislative director of the Montana Farmers Union, noted that the report warns that rangeland cattle production could drop 20 percent.

"When it gets to be 95 degrees, cattle do not gain as fast; they don't gain as much," he said, "and so, the potential losses to the livestock industry are pretty significant."

The report also predicted a possible 25 percent decline in grain production.

The report is online at montanafarmersunion.com.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021