The real toll of climate change: Five takeaways from 2022 (Arkansas Business)

As it is for many U.S. states, Arkansans will remember 2022 as a year of extreme weather, writes Arkansas Business in an op-ed by Hallie Shoffner. It’s safe to say climate change is no longer hypothetical. Extreme weather is hurting Arkansas’ economy, particularly our agricultural industry. But it’s also taking a toll on our quality of life. in the year ahead food prices will steadily tick up. This year, grocery shopping was more painful than usual due to inflation and the rising cost of food from weather-related events and harvest disruptions. Unfortunately, Joseph Glauber, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute said, “things could get worse before they get better.”