Scientists’ portraits of continued global warming are not a pretty sight: intensified hurricanes, droughts, floods and dramatic shortages of clean air, water and food supplies.

But if you think that’s bad, wait until you get the bill.

“You can never say with any one storm, ‘We caused that.’ But you can also never say with any one storm, ‘We did not cause that.‘”

“Global warming will cause profound changes, and it will be costly for people,” says Chris Miller, director of U.S. Climate Campaigns for Greenpeace USA. “Things we’ve been taking for granted for so long in this country will be hard to take for granted — from driving big cars we can afford to fuel to turning on the tap.”

While no one is predicting water will stop running altogether, many global warming experts predict that it will be scarcer in some areas and more expensive across the board.

Signs of the early damage from warming already are appearing, according to a growing number of scientists and environmentalists. “There’s likely going to be an increase in droughts and floods,” says Stephen H. Schneider, climatologist and professor at Stanford University. “We’re just beginning to show that emerging,” he adds, in the form of more intense, destructive and deadly storms.

“You can never say with any one storm, ‘We caused that,’” says Schneider. “But you can also never say with any one storm, ‘We did not cause that.’”

Unchecked, continued climate change could mean big lifestyle changes in the next 30 years to 50 years. And it could also mean that life for your children and grandchildren will be more difficult and more expensive.

What’s up weatherwise?
With global warming, “Dry areas are likely to get dryer and wet areas are likely to get wetter,” says Chris Field, director of the department of global ecology for the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University.

And that can wallop the pocketbook.

Take homeowners insurance, for example. “One of the things that has already started is the difficulty of getting insurance along the coast,” says Joe Romm, author of “Hell and High Water: Global Warming — the Solution and the Politics — and What We Should Do,” and a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress.

Each year some 1.5 million tons of plastic are used on the bottling of 23 billion gallons of drinking water.

And it’s going to get worse, he adds, making it more difficult for people who own coastal or even inland property, even if they are not hit by storms. “Thousands of policies could be canceled as climate models begin to show that part of the world is more impacted by storms in the North Atlantic,” says Miller.

And that could have yet another financial impact, says Romm. “If we don’t get serious about global warming in the next 10 years to 15 years, coastal property values will crash,” he says.

Global warming students see two problems emerging that will have sizable economic impact. First, because the water is warmer (which fuels hurricanes), there is the potential for the storms to cause more damage. And second, if sea levels are already higher (due to warmer water, plus the effects of melting ice sheets), a storm surge could be even worse.

If there is a rise of five to six feet in the sea level “over the next century or two, one-third of Florida is gone,” says Miller.

Field agrees: “With every meter (39.37 inches) of sea level, you lose a substantial amount of South Florida.”

In an area like New York City, which sits close to the ocean, if you combine rising levels and a nor’easter, “you’ll have things like the subway filling with water,” Field says.

“If we don’t get serious about global warming in the next 10 to 15 years, coastal property values will crash.”

Another problem with warming is the heat. By the end of the century, we could see heat waves in Los Angeles or San Francisco go from 12 days to 100 days, says Field. That heat also magnifies smog problems, meaning there are “more kids with asthma, more people who can’t go outside,” he says. “There will be a greater number of people who have air pollution-related health conditions.” What’s more, warming helps some types of ragweed, as well as bug-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever, he says. So America could expect to see “more serious impacts from hay fever,” as well as more malaria and dengue fever cases.

Short supplies?
Drought, climate changes and storm damage could also lead to shortages or disruptions in food, water and energy supplies.

“We’ve already seen impacts of warming on the yields of corn, wheat and barley,” says Field. “Worldwide, for every degree the temperature goes up, the yield goes down 8 percent.”

An aging water and sewer infrastructure, melting snow packs in the western mountains and increasing heat and drought in the West have several experts predicting struggles over the water supply — and an end to cheap water.

There would likely be “increased water prices and shortages in some areas,” says Miller, “first affecting agriculture in the West. It would have a profound effect on the economy in the West.”

If everyone in America recycled their junk mail, $370 million in landfill dumping fees could be saved each year.

But Mother Nature is also throwing some curve balls.
“In a lot of cases, the effects from climate changes interact in unexpected ways,” says Field. For example, as water levels in San Francisco Bay rise, salty sea water is flowing upriver, which is a big problem because that water is used to irrigate fertile California farmland.

“After a big storm, you already have salt levels that are unacceptable,” he says. “The concern is that instead of getting it once every five years, you get it once every month, and eventually the water will be too salty to use.”

What that could affect: the supply and cost of water and food.

And expect energy prices to continue climbing, says Romm.

If every household paid just one bill online, it would save almost $2 billion a year in postage costs, enough to pay off the average credit card debt of 250,000 consumers.

“The days of cheap oil are gone,” he says. In the next 10 years to 15 years, he believes the country will see oil for $100 a barrel and gas prices above $4 a gallon. “I do think the days of the gas guzzler are going to be reduced,” he says.

And, as the country learned during the gas hikes after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, “a third or more of the oil and gas comes from the Gulf of Mexico area,” says Miller. “That puts a lot of eggs in one basket, and it’s a basket that is more likely to be disrupted.”

A solution many environmental groups have proposed: meeting more energy needs locally through renewable, fixed-rate solutions like wind and solar-power stations.

A wind farm that Greenpeace is working to have permitted now off the coast of Massachusetts could provide 75 percent of the power to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod, says Miller. Because the costs are fixed ahead of time, residents would have power at a fixed rate for the next 20 years, he says.

Where’s the fun?
Outdoor recreation, like baseball, golf and tennis games, could look markedly different, too, Romm says. What’s at stake: anything that depends on lush, green spaces and outdoor access.

Tourism could take a hit, especially in places like Florida and Arizona, where warm-weather outdoor activities are big, and global warming changes are predicted to be especially profound, says Field.

In the West, skiing and cold-weather activities could also suffer, as scientists predict that warming will affect the snow accumulation and, consequently, the water supply in the region.

“The cost of doing nothing is greater than the cost of doing something.”

Even for folks who just sit at home in the easy chair, life could get more problematic. “By the end of the century, a city like Washington, D.C., or Houston might see 60-plus days at 98-plus degree temperatures,” says Romm. “That’s pretty grim stuff.”

In addition to the expense of skyrocketing electric bills to cover the cost of air conditioning, hotter temperatures combined with dirtier air could pack a one-two punch for a lot of people with asthma, allergies, emphysema and other medical problems who will be forced to spend more time indoors.

Then there are the social effects that scientists really can’t measure. How will the stresses and strains of supply shortages, hotter summers and more expensive goods affect tempers? How will the aftermath of more violent hurricanes, floods and fires impact American businesses struggling to stay competitive on the world stage, or small companies operating on already-tight margins?

Scientists and environmentalists agree there is time to prevent all this from happening. But it’s a small window of opportunity.

“The kind of changes you see in 30 years to 50 years depends on the path we move down,” says Miller. “If we get our stuff together soon and make the kind of changes scientists tell us are necessary,” he says, “we’re insuring our ability to live in the quality of life we have.”

What about offsets?
Global warming is like slow-acting poison, several scientists warn. Inaction will set the planet on an unchangeable course. But the antidote, administered quickly, would affect a cure.

While opponents complain about the cost of solutions, there will be an economic cost exacted from individuals either way, he says. “The cost of doing nothing is greater than the cost of doing something,” Miller says.

One idea that’s gotten a lot of ink, carbon offsets, is also controversial.

About 70 percent of the fresh water used in southern Nevada goes to water lawns and golf courses.

Here’s how it works: Individuals, companies or even countries pay financial rewards to some other person or entity that pollutes less or practices behavior that would remove carbon from the atmosphere (like planting trees). Some scientists and environmentalists believe it’s cheating or that, because it’s largely unchecked, there’s no way to know if people are really getting what they are buying.

“The best thing they do is reduce our emissions,” says Field. But, he adds, they are not great as a first line of defense. “It allows the person with the SUV to spend an extra $150 that may or may not be worthwhile and make them feel a little less guilty.”

Others see it as a good stopgap or a way to at least get everyone engaged in solving the global warming problem.

“What offsets do is get you into the game,” says Schneider. “That alone makes offsets useful to me.”

That said, “You have to make sure an offset is real and not a pig in a poke,” he says.

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Tara called in to my XM Satellite Radio show distressed about her debt.

But unlike many people who complain about the bills they allowed to mount, much of her debt was not her fault.

Someone, perhaps her grandmother, parents or a close relative, had stolen Tara’s personal information and opened credit card accounts — one when she was just 16.

This young woman is part of a small but disturbing trend in identity theft, in which crooks steal your personal information and open credit in your name.

One might think children would be spared from this crime, because who in their right mind would extend credit to a child?

The Federal Trade Commission reported that identity theft from victims under 18 rose from 6,512 cases in 2003 to 10,835 in 2006. In 2003, 3 percent of identity-theft victims were under 18. By last year, the figure had reached 5 percent. Keep in mind, these figures represent only formal complaints.

Tweens (children 8 to 12) and teens are particularly vulnerable because of their increased consumer activity, particularly over the Internet.

“These platforms facilitate information exchange and, if left unmonitored, could lead to enhanced identity theft,” said Maxine Sweet, vice president of public education at Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus.

What’s so frustrating about child identity theft is that the crime can go undetected for years. Often it isn’t discovered until the victim is a young adult and applies for credit or tries to rent an apartment or open a bank account.

Here’s another reason why authorities don’t know how many children are affected: Rather than a theft of their personal information over the Internet, often the information is illegally used by a child’s parent or a close relative.

A parent already laden with debt will open new credit accounts using a child’s Social Security number. Of course, such fraud goes unreported because the parent isn’t going to complain. And in adulthood, the child doesn’t often rat out mom or dad.

Sweet offered these suggestions for parents to safeguard their children’s identity:

Have you ever thought that if you were making $100,000 or more it would be easy to save money? Apparently it isn’t, even for people making upward of $250,000. There’s no shortage of high-income earners who have relatively little net worth.

It’s not that they don’t save; many max out their 401(k) plans religiously. But socking away $15,500, or $20,500 if they’re eligible for catch-up contributions, annually isn’t going to provide for their current lifestyle when they’re retired.

“We’ve always referred to it in our practice as the 105 percent rule,” says P.J. DiNuzzo, chief investment officer at DiNuzzo Investment Advisors in Beaver, Pa. “If they’re making $100,000, they spend $105,000. If they’re making $200,000, they’re spending $210,000. They say they’ll start making it up next year, and then next year turns into 10, 15 or 20 years down the road and they’ve wasted a tremendous opportunity to prepare for retirement.”

The No. 1 reason earners in the $100,000 to $249,000 bracket give for slacking off on savings is that they need the money to pay bills, according to an HSBC Direct survey. And that would certainly seem to imply, as DiNuzzo indicates, they’re living beyond their means.

Claimed household income   What prevents you from saving more? Select all that apply: I need to pay bills. I don’t make enough money to make ends meet. Something unforeseen always comes up. I want some spending money. I don’t feel the need to save. Other. Source: HSBC Direct

Spenders or savers?

Many of these high income earners who come up short at the savings game are entrepreneurs who excel at running a business or professionals who receive annual raises and bonuses that can mean a 10 percent annual increase in gross pay. They’re bright, and it shouldn’t be difficult for them to figure out that they’re going to need a hefty nest egg to continue their lifestyle beyond their working years.

Michael Prebenda, senior vice president at HSBC Direct, says people have belief sets that guide them to be spenders or savers. “You’ll find people with low incomes who save a large percentage of their income because they believe strongly in savings. People who aren’t inclined to save can’t visualize the need to save for something that’s 10, 20 or 30 years down the road. It’s not tangible.

“It’s often quoted that in the U.S. we have a negative savings rate. That’s driven by 70 percent of the population that’s spending well in excess of their income annually and 30 percent of the population, roughly, that’s saving a heck of a lot of money. It’s that 30 percent who have a good feel for cash.”

Financial planners find it’s not always easy getting these folks to see the light. DiNuzzo says it can be awkward to find yourself playing the role of the financial parent in the relationship.

“You get a lot of pushback with these people even trying to go through a cash-flow statement with them. Obviously, nobody making that kind of money has a low IQ; they know where we’re going with this. They’ll avoid it and it will go on for months and months. Finally, we say we just need to pick a number over and above what they’re putting in their qualified plan at work. We need to get them into the groove of saving money.”

Setting retirement lifestyle
Dave Hinnenkamp, chief executive officer at KDV Wealth Management Group in St. Cloud, Minn., says his firm has a number of clients in the high-income, low-net-worth category. His concern is that for every dollar they spend they set a standard of living for themselves. He notes that the impact of spending those dollars doubles when you consider that the money isn’t available to support them in later years.

“The whole key is finding a balance between living for today and saving enough for tomorrow so you can retain that lifestyle when you retire. We sit with them and develop a dynamic plan; each year we reassess whether the target is still accurate and we make any necessary course corrections.

“We see both sides of it — some clients spend too much and won’t be able to enjoy retirement in the same manner as their current lifestyle while others may not spend enough. They’ll retire with a lot of money, but they may not have developed any hobbies because they didn’t spend anything. But the side that’s most alarming is when they don’t put enough away.”

Consider meeting with a financial planner for a comprehensive assessment of your retirement needs and ways to get on track to meet them. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, or you want to crunch some numbers in advance of a meeting, try Bankrate’s retirement calculator.

From spender to saver
Getting into the savings habit can be a struggle for people in all income brackets. Even if your DNA is stamped “spender!” you may be able to break out of that mold. The old chestnut about forced savings — having money taken out of your paycheck so you don’t get a chance to spend it — works. Max out your retirement plan options at work. If that’s not going to be enough to support you during your golden years, you’ll need to develop a bit more self-restraint.

In addition to the retirement plan provided through your employer, open an IRA at a bank or brokerage and have it funded with automatic payments. A similarly funded high-yield savings account can be opened online with automatic monthly payments from a checking account.

A financial planner will be able to suggest investments that will put your money to better use. You’ll need to keep your hands off the investment and savings accounts if you want them to grow. The hope is that eventually you’ll see the benefit of saving money and realize it’s not hard to do. Meanwhile, you’ll still have enough to spend; you just won’t have enough to wreck your retirement.

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