Global warming is costly, devastating to infrastructure in Alaska

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The study by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at University of Alaska is the first of its kind in Alaska, and it does not project costs for things like moving villages, protecting the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, fighting wildfires or protecting private property that may beย affected.

Temperatures have risen by an average of two to five degrees in different parts of the state in recent decades, and the changes have already been linked to problems like coastal erosion in remote Alaskan villages and wildfires. The researchers who wrote the report said their estimates for increased costs were based on โ€œmiddle-of-the-roadโ€ forecasts for warming in a place where projects were designed to endure theย cold.

โ€œThere are a million other issues related to climate change,โ€ said Peter Larsen, lead researcher for the report. โ€œThis is just one component, but itโ€™s a critical piece because this is where all the goods and services come through the stateโ€™s economy, is through theย infrastructure.โ€

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