Most people will see climate change delivered to them in the form of higher water, energy, and insurance bills. Why? More droughts, higher temperatures, and more extreme weather will require lifestyle alterations ranging from what crops we grow to how we recreate. Climate change expands the range of conditions we need to prepare for, and that preparation costs.

Warmer temperatures will also mean less snow overall at certain latitudes because more will fall as rain, and the snow that does fall will melt faster. The consequences of this are plain to ski resort operators—a shorter, poorer ski season—but it also makes a difference to local water supplies. In some areas, snowpack will melt sooner and more suddenly (as it already is in most western states), and will flow uselessly past reservoirs that are still full during the winter. It also means rivers and streams will flow less during the later, hotter parts of summer. The difference this makes to farmers and ranchers is obvious, but it also affects people living in areas that depend on snow-fed reservoirs for water. There will likely be less water, and it will be more expensive.

On the other hand,  the IPCC projects increases of 5-20% in crop yields in the first decades of this century. But with increased drought, flood, shrinking water supplies, and heat, farmers will have their hands full, and production in some regions could falter or fail. A 2008 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts grain and oilseed crops will likely grow faster, but the crops will be more prone to failure if climate variability increases and precipitation becomes less dependable. Additionally, invasive weeds tend to grow faster than most cash crops with higher CO₂, and some herbicides will be less effective.

And ironically, with higher temperatures comes an increased potential for killing freezes. This is because plants start growing earlier, making them more vulnerable to sudden spring-time cold spells. The consequences of this will likely be felt in the produce aisles. An April 2007 frost that followed a week of warm weather caused more than $2 billion in agricultural losses in the central and southeastern U.S.