[TheClimate.Vote] September 1, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest

[Richard Pauli]

/*September 1, 2020*/

[Marketplace - follow the money]
*Insurance increasingly unaffordable as climate change brings more 
disasters*
Samantha Fields
Aug 31, 2020
There was a moment in 2016, just after putting an offer on a house in 
the Oakland Hills in California, that Jamye Alexandra wondered if it was 
a mistake. Not because of the house itself, or the location, but because 
the insurance company the previous owners had been with for years said 
they would not keep insuring the property. There were too many trees, 
they said. Too much risk of wildfire. That made her pause.

"I was pretty nervous," she said. "But since we were able to find a 
couple other insurance partners who were willing to do it, I wasn't too 
worried."

They went ahead and bought the house.
The next year, 2017, was one of the worst fire years in California 
history. Over a million and a half acres burned, and more than 10,000 
structures were damaged or destroyed, more than in the previous 9 years 
combined. None of the fires were in Oakland, but even so, the following 
year, Alexandra and her husband got a notice from their insurance 
company: they were not renewing their policy. After that, the only 
option their broker could find them on the traditional market was nearly 
$13,000 a year -- almost four times what they had been paying.

"That was really crazy and was really scary," Alexandra said. "Basically 
what my broker said is that this is happening to most of his clients… 
and he's like, it's funny, because a lot of these people have had their 
insurance for 20 years and they haven't made claims, and yet they're 
getting dropped."

*Climate change driving up cost of insurance *
As the climate changes, and wildfires get bigger and more destructive 
across California, it is getting harder and more expensive for many 
homeowners to get insurance, particularly in areas deemed high 
fire-risk. The same thing is happening in other states that are bearing 
the brunt of climate change, in parts of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi 
and Texas that have been hit hard by hurricanes in recent years.

"Affordability of home insurance in the face of climate change has 
become a huge issue in many states," said Amy Bach, executive director 
of the nonprofit United Policyholders. "Home insurance now is costing 
more in areas that are vulnerable to climate change, is harder to find, 
and is worth less."

It is also getting harder to keep. In California, the number of 
homeowners who got a non-renewal notice from their insurance company 
rose 6% between 2017 and 2018. In areas that were directly affected by 
wildfires between 2015 and 2018, that number jumped by 10% -- and that 
was before the Camp Fire, the most destructive fire in California 
history, which burned down most of the town of Paradise in November 2018.

When homeowners get a non-renewal notice from their insurance company, 
they often find their only options for replacement coverage are double, 
triple, even quadruple what they had been paying -- either from 
unregulated surplus lines of insurance, or from the state's insurer of 
last resort, the California FAIR plan.
That's what happened to Pam Hewes last summer after she got a 
non-renewal notice from her insurance company for her house in rural 
Calaveras County.

"We are unable to renew coverage due to wildfire or brushfire exposure, 
including one or more of the following conditions at or near your 
property," it read. "Close proximity to flammable vegetation; steep 
slopes that may increase the speed and intensity of wildfire; and/or 
limited access and/or dead-end roads that may impede firefighting 
equipment."

It was the second time she'd been dropped by an insurance company in 
five or six years.

"I called my insurance broker and she said, 'you know what, you're stuck 
with California FAIR,' because nobody's insuring in the area we're in," 
said Hewes, 71, who's been living in the same house in Arnold since the 
late 1970s. Her insurance is now $2,000 a year, double what she had been 
paying before -- and it covers less.

"The insurance industry recognizes that the frequency and severity of 
natural disasters has increased dramatically in the past few years, and 
they're pricing their policies to reflect that risk," said Michael 
Barry, of the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute. "They're in the 
business of selling insurance, so they want to get new customers, they 
want to underwrite properties. At the same time, they have to make an 
assessment as to what's the correct price for this policy."

Insuring against disaster has always been a complicated calculus, but it 
is becoming even more so as the planet warms, and storms and wildfires 
become more frequent and severe. In 2017 and 2018, insurers paid out 
almost $25 billion in claims. After the Camp Fire, the losses in 
Paradise alone were so high that they put one small insurance company, 
Merced Property & Casualty Co., out of business. Already this year, with 
at least three months left to go in fire season, more than 1.6 million 
acres have burned across the state.

"The 2017 and 2018 fires wiped out more than double three decades of 
profits. It wiped out those profits twice over," said Carolyn Kousky, 
executive director of the Wharton Risk Center at the University of 
Pennsylvania. "If, in just a couple seasons, you're paying losses that 
are basically 30 years worth of profit, you can see how that becomes 
quickly not financially sustainable for these firms, and hence why I 
think they're getting increasingly concerned about their ability to 
write coverage there."

*Insurance of last resort*
Many homeowners in California are becoming increasingly concerned about 
being able to get quality, affordable insurance. Every time she goes on 
her local Nextdoor listserv in Oakland, Alexandra said, "there's 
literally always a post saying, hey, we just lost our insurance, or our 
insurance more than doubled, or different things like that."

About 98% of Californians are still able to get homeowners insurance 
through the traditional market, according to the industry, but in the 
counties that have the most homes in areas considered to be high or very 
high wildfire-risk, the number of people on the higher-cost California 
FAIR plan grew 177% between 2015 and 2018. The number of people buying 
similarly high-cost surplus policies also grew nearly 50% over that same 
period.

"We're starting to see indications that there is stress in these 
markets," Kousky said. "And we're going to get to these tipping points 
where it's just going to be beyond what some homeowners can afford."

In some places, that tipping point has already arrived. In California's 
highest-risk counties, the wildland urban interface areas, many 
residents are older, retired, living on fixed incomes -- incomes that 
are being strained as insurance premiums rise.

"That is a classic wildfire victim, the 60 to 90 year old living on 
Social Security or retirement savings," Bach said. "All their assets are 
tied up in their house, and they don't have the budget to go from 
$1,000-a-year expense to a $4,000-a-year expense."

For Pam Hewes, the extra $1,000 a year she now has to pay to insure her 
home is "really significant," she said. "I'm retirement age, but I did 
not retire, thank goodness, because I'm still working and getting Social 
Security both, so I have a little cushion."

She had planned to retire last summer. Then her husband died, right 
around the same time she got that non-renewal notice from her insurance 
company.

"If I had retired last year in July when I planned to, and then my 
husband died, and there was no income from him, I don't know what I 
would do," she said. "I'm trying to save as much as I can now for the 
future, because I don't see it going down."

Jamye Alexandra is worried, too, about what the future looks like -- and 
what it could cost. She and her husband were ultimately able to get 
homeowners insurance, through California FAIR, for about $5,500 -- 
nearly double what they had been paying before they got dropped, but 
well below the $13,000 quote they got on the traditional market. But the 
experience has made her wary.

"I guess they could just keep raising the prices," she said. "If you're 
having to pay $20,000 or something in the future on fire insurance, it 
kind of makes living here not something that you could do in the long-term."

When she and her husband bought their house in Oakland, after years of 
saving, they thought it was where they would live forever.

"It's really beautiful. We have all these trees, and you're so close to 
town… but at the same time, when you're at the house you feel like 
you're in the woods. And it's awesome, we love it," Alexandra said. "But 
now I'm not so sure. Because of the insurance and just all the fires, I 
just am doubting how much we should be living in California."
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/08/31/insurance-increasingly-unaffordable-as-climate-change-brings-more-disasters/



[Children's questions]
*'What can I do to help the climate?' and other questions kids are 
asking about climate change*
Children wonder whether climate change will lead to more lightning 
strikes, why different parts of the world have different climates, and more.
By Sara Peach | Friday, August 28, 2020
Dear readers,
In this column, I'm answering more children's questions about climate 
change. As in my previous column on the topic, these questions were 
posed by young participants in online educational programs at the Museum 
of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina.

*What can I do to help the climate? (Eve, no age given)*
There's a lot that you can do to help the climate. Kids all over the 
world are working together on the problem.

I suggest that you start by talking about climate change with a grown-up 
you trust, like a family member or a teacher. You can ask questions, 
share your feelings, and talk about ways that you might be able to help.

One of the most important things you can do is to learn more about 
climate change. You can start by looking at NASA's climate website for 
kids. Or you might enjoy some of the books on this list.

Another important step is to tell other people what you learn about the 
climate. In my previous column, I shared suggestions from Professor Ann 
Sanson about how to talk about climate change with friends at school.

Kids around the world are also taking action to help the climate, for 
example by planting trees. Trees help the climate because they soak up 
carbon dioxide, which is trapping extra heat in the atmosphere. Children 
are writing songs and drawing pictures about the climate. And many young 
people are writing letters to leaders in the government, making 
speeches, or participating in school strikes, all with the goal of 
letting the grown-ups know that it's time to protect the climate.

*Should we expect more hurricanes in the future here? (Collin, no age 
given)*
Dear Collin,
I sent your question to Dr. Jeff Masters, who works with me at Yale 
Climate Connections. Dr. Masters is a meteorologist, which means he uses 
science to explain and predict the weather. He replied, "Hurricane 
scientists currently don't see a future with more hurricanes. But they 
do expect the strongest hurricanes to get stronger."

That means when a hurricane does hit, it may cause more damage than it 
would have in the past. So it is important for people to help each other 
before, during, and after a storm.

The good news is that meteorologists are getting very good at spotting 
hurricanes. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, or NOAA, use satellites orbiting the Earth to see 
potential hurricanes several days before they hit land. That makes it 
easier to tell people when they need to get ready for a storm, which can 
help them stay safe.

*Will there be more lightning here when the climate changes? (Xi, age 6)*
Scientists aren't sure yet.

"There is some research showing that we should expect more lightning as 
the climate warms, but more work is needed before we can be confident of 
this," Dr. Masters told me. In other words, grown-up scientists are 
still looking for an answer to your question.

No matter what happens in the future, you can follow these steps to stay 
safe from lightning.

    If you hear thunder, go inside a building or a car.
    Stay away from windows, doors, and porches. If you're in a car,
    close the windows.
    Unplug any electrical devices you're using, such as a computer.
    Don't use faucets in the sink or bathtub during a thunderstorm. This
    is an excellent excuse not to take a bath.

*Why do different parts of the world have different climates? Are they 
all changing? (Carlyle, age 9)*
Dear Carlyle,
One important reason that the world has many different climates is that 
the sun's rays shine more directly on some parts of the Earth than on 
others. Along the Equator, the sun shines almost straight overhead, 
focusing its rays over a small area. That focused energy keeps that part 
of the world warm. So countries along the equator, like Ecuador, Brazil, 
Gabon, Kenya, Somalia, the Maldives, and Indonesia, all have warm climates.

At the North and South Poles, on the other hand, the sun's rays hit the 
Earth at more of a slant. The sun's energy is spread out over a larger 
area, making it less intense. As a result, the climates in those places 
are extremely cold.

If you have a flashlight, you can see this phenomenon for yourself. Turn 
on the flashlight in a darkened room and hold it straight up and down as 
you point it at the floor. You will see a circle of light on the floor. 
Next, tilt the flashlight slightly. You will see that the area of light 
spreads out, growing in size on the floor.

Most places on Earth are getting warmer as the planet's climate changes. 
But some regions are getting warmer more quickly than others. For 
example, the climate in the Arctic, which is the area near the North 
Pole where polar bears live, is warming much more quickly than the 
climate in North Carolina.

*What can we learn from how the climate changed before? (no name given)*
We can learn quite a bit. The study of the Earth's ancient climates is 
called paleoclimatology. Scientists who study paleoclimatology look for 
clues hidden in rocks, tree rings, glaciers, ice caps, coral skeletons, 
and the layers of dirt at the bottom of lakes and oceans. Those clues 
can help them understand what the Earth's climate was like before 
thermometers were invented -- and even before humans existed.

By studying those clues, scientists have learned that the Earth's 
climate has changed many times. In the past, our planet has experienced 
ice ages, when the Earth was much colder than today and icy glaciers 
crept toward the equator. It has also been warmer than it is today. In 
fact, about 55-56 million years ago, our planet was so hot that palm 
trees and crocodiles lived in the Arctic.

'Where did the climate come from?' and other kids' questions about 
climate change
As scientists study ancient climates, they learn more about the natural 
causes of climate change, such as eruptions from volcanoes or changes in 
the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth. Figuring out why the 
climate changed in the past helps scientists better understand why the 
climate is changing now. It also helps them to be confident that this 
time, humans are the cause...

Thanks again for all of your questions. I enjoyed reading them.
- Sara
Got a question about climate change? Send it to 
sara at yaleclimateconnections.org. Questions may be edited for length and 
clarity.
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/08/kids-questions-about-climate-change-part-2/

- -

[resilience talk]
*Erik Assadourian: Post-doom with Michael Dowd*
Aug 31, 2020
thegreatstory
This conversation with Erik Assadourian was recorded in August 2020. For 
more information on Erik Assadourian, see http://gaianism.org and 
http://gaianism.org/author/erik
"Post-doom: Regenerative conversations exploring overshoot, grief, 
grounding and gratitude."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdjPKVo2ixo



[activist philosopher]
*Non-Violent Direct Action - Method or Madness? | Extinction Rebellion*
Aug 31, 2020
Extinction Rebellion
"It's a good cause, but I don't like their methods!" - We've all heard 
it. Extinction Rebellion's methods have been questioned again and again.

Non-Violent Direct Action has worked at points throughout history but 
does that mean it can work for Extinction Rebellion now?

Join our presenter Jasmine Salter as she talks to some activist icons 
from the last few decades; Peter Tatchell the LGBT+ rights campaigner 
from Outrage! Frank Hewetson the Greenpeace UK Action Coordinator, Clare 
Farrell the XR Co-Founder and Angie Zelter the founder of Trident 
Ploughshares.

With academic support from Nick Amin, Jasmine will look at whether 
Non-Violent Direct Action really has a chance of working for Extinction 
Rebellion today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG2-OGUdoyM

- -

[basics of Extinction Rebellion]
*Heading for Extinction Talk with Bors Hulesch and Sara Hudston | 
Extinction Rebellion UK*
Aug 20, 2020
Extinction Rebellion
Latest version of the Heading for Extinction Talk (August 2020) with 
Bors Hulesch and Sara Hudston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3yRv1B8Y-w


[two thoughtful videos on culture]
*Developmental Politics Simplified in 5-Minutes*
Feb 5, 2020
Stephen McIntosh
Political philosopher Steve McIntosh simplifies his new book: 
"Developmental Politics--How America Can Grow Into a Better Version of 
Itself." There is much more to the book than what is covered in this 
brief video. But as Steve explains, the need to increase our "cultural 
intelligence" to overcome polarization is a central theme of the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAvMcui3_y0

- -

*How to Overcome Political Polarization in 5-Minutes*
Mar 22, 2020
Stephen McIntosh
Political philosopher Steve McIntosh explains how Americans can overcome 
hyper-partisanship by more skillfully managing the polarity between 
liberal values and conservative values. Over the past few decades a 
promising theoretical perspective has arisen that sheds new light on the 
forces that cause political polarization. This way to think about 
conflict, known as "polarity theory," posits that certain types of polar 
opposition are actually generators of value that, when effectively 
managed, can build agreement and produce meaningful political progress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvz96-0EDdU



[smart audio interview]
*Professor Kevin Anderson | Climate action failure, equality + the 
climate crisis*
Aug 20, 2020
Nick Breeze
In this episode I speak with Professor Kevin Anderson who is the former 
director of the UK's Tyndall Centre for climate change research, he is 
also a part-time professor at the University of Uppsala in Sweden and 
even squeezes in a day a week at a university in Norway.

In this episode, we discuss who are the culprits of climate action 
failure, how coronavirus has shown us we are all equal in society and 
how solving current inequality is an essential component of solving the 
climate crisis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTaqd6rn2RA


[important audio interview on mindset resilience psychology]
*Climate Psychologist Dr. Renee Lertzman - Principals for attuned 
thinking in a time of crisis*
Aug 13, 2020
Nick Breeze
Welcome to Shaping The Future - from pandemic to climate change and in 
this episode I am speaking with Dr. Renee Lertzman, a pioneer in 
bridging the gap between human psychology and the environmental and 
climate crisis.

Renee talks here about how climate professionals can become better 
leaders and show guidance by becoming attuned to those whom we engage with.

Renee also offers a set of principals developed as a tool-set for 
psychological survival at a period in time when uncertainty about the 
future can lead to existential anxiety.

Of course this is also a time of opportunity, when radical new thinking 
can shape a vastly better future than the current horizon suggests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L24Kq0GgDVg



[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - September 1, 2002 *

September 1, 2002: British Prime Minister Tony Blair laments the failure 
of the United States to join the Kyoto Protocol, even though the treaty 
is quite moderate relative to what the science demands in terms of 
worldwide emissions cuts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2228741.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/09/01/blair.climate.glb/


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