Sunday, October 21, 2012
Weather and the Economy
The country's economy is a hot topic in this election year. There are absolutely some things that we citizens, and our government, can do to affect the economy; however, there are others things over which we have no control. One of those things is the weather. In your comment, describe one way that the weather can positively or negatively affect the country's economy. Remember to cite your sources and proofread well (check spelling, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, sentence structure).
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The weather can have both a positive and negative affect on the economy. The way weather can have a negative affect is if it does not rain and there is a drought, or there are many floods and all the crops die. Then there is less food to eat and less income for the person who is selling and making the crops. The way the weather can be positive is it brings good amounts of sun and rain to allow crops to grow and be eaten. This is one way weather can affect our economy.
ReplyDelete(Source: none)
Though I lack legit citable source, my years of studying have made me well aware of this issue. Weather has always had an affect on economy, and though there are many ways to get around it now, just decades ago people counted on weather to help the economy.
ReplyDeleteA prime example of this is early America. Because of rich agriculture, people in early America relied on things such as rain, and sunny weather. To add on, sweltering heat and harsh cold were the enemies of agriculture during this time. The fact that agriculture was key before industrialization means that if the weather conditions didn't allow for good crops, there was a big change in economy, and not for the better.
Sources: past studies (personal and scholastic)
Weather impacts all commercial and economic activity. It is estimated that approximately 30% of out GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is directly or indirectly affected by the changing weather and climate.¹ As recently as Spring of this year, we have observed cases where weather has negatively impacted corn crops, which is one of the world’s most highly traded crop-next to soybeans. Corn had a positive rise in April, but was threatened by a week of freezing weather in Illinois and other parts of the Midwest-which are the largest producers of corn product in the U.S. By July, of that same year, corn had dropped to selling at 0.3% and $6.3, from 47% in April.
ReplyDeleteIn parts of Europe, where corn, soybean, and wheat are heavily produced, a dearth affected the amount of wheat that was grown for market. As a result in Europe, wheat futures dropped to 0.4% and began selling at 202.50 Euros ($266.35).
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1. http://www.iso.com/Research-and-Analyses/ISO-Review/How-Weather-Influences-the-Economy.html
2. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-12/corn-wheat-advance-as-freezing-weather-threaten-u-s-crops.html
Weather impacts our economy in various ways, including federal aid used to support ailing communities after a natural disaster. For instance, according to USAToday.com, the United States spent over $122 billion in supporting the communities effect by Hurrican Katrina. The U.S. economy declined after the 2005 fiscal year. Therefore, it is certainly reasonable to deduce that 122 billion taken out of the economy to repair broken communities had an affect on our economy. Granted that certain areas such as New Orleans were not fully prepared to handle a hurricane of that stature, the money spent on repairing New Orleans and the Gulf Coast could have been used to stimulate the economy. Therefore, the weather is certainly capable of effecting our economy.
ReplyDeleteHurricane Katrina is a prime example of how severe weather can negatively affect the nations economy. Firstly, it cost over $100 billion to repair the damanges that the hurricane left behind. Besides repair costs, a huge bite was taken out of job creation for months following Katrina. Hurricane Katrina also affected nearly 20% of U.S. oil production. Hurricanes Katrina (and a smaller previous Hurricane Rita) "destroyed 113 offshore oil and gas platforms, damaged 457 oil and gas pipelines, and spilled nearly as much oil as the Exxon Valdez oil disaster" (2). This caused oil prices to raise to $3 a barrel, and gas prices in some places to reach $5 a gallon.
ReplyDelete1.http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/31/news/katrina_aftereffects/index.htm
2.http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/f/katrina_damage.htm
The weather definitely can affect our economy. To start It affects agriculture, seasons without efficient rainfall, or those affected with flood or drought, can affect agriculture. Cold weather drives up the price of natural gas and propane, your heating bill from last years and this years winter is an example and how our insurance costs are adjusted for the amount of storm damage we sustain.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.iso.com/Research-and-Analyses/ISO-Review/How-Weather-Influences-the-Economy.html
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/business-brains/whats-the-forecast-study-suggests-average-weather-changes-impact-economy/16810
Weather effects our economy in numerous ways. The main one that I found was in terms of clothing. That's ongoing, people need new clothes for new seasons. Kohls, Children's Place and Destination Maternity were all some of the top contenders according to iso.com. This is mostly because they serve a specific purpose that never goes out of style, general plain clothes and babies.
ReplyDeleteFrom a more personal standpoint, I remeber a few years ago when there was a "heat wave" taking it's time moseying through the North Jersey region and people were dying of the heat. My house has no central heating/cooling and we needed more air conditioners to keep the house cooler. My parents had no intention of paying any real money so we went to Wal-Mart and come to find out everyone else in Union County needs an AC. The lines were full and they ran out of AC"s in about 20 minutes. If it weren't for that heat wave, Wal-Mart wouldn't have made all of that money
Weather can effect a country's economy drastically in various ways. According to me agriculture is the most important, as it has a direct co-relation with economy. If the crop production(per year) decreases as a result of harsh climatic conditions(storms,droughts,floods unsuitable temperatures for the growth of crops,etc.), the country suffers economically as they have to import more crops from other countries to fulfill their own needs.
ReplyDelete