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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>September 1, 2020</b></font></i></p>
[Marketplace - follow the money]<br>
<b>Insurance increasingly unaffordable as climate change brings more
disasters</b><br>
Samantha Fields<br>
Aug 31, 2020<br>
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.<br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
They went ahead and bought the house.<br>
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. <br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
<b>Climate change driving up cost of insurance </b><br>
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.<br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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. <br>
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.<br>
<br>
"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." <br>
<br>
It was the second time she'd been dropped by an insurance company in
five or six years.<br>
<br>
"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. <br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
<b>Insurance of last resort</b><br>
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."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
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."<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<br>
When she and her husband bought their house in Oakland, after years
of saving, they thought it was where they would live forever. <br>
<br>
"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."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.marketplace.org/2020/08/31/insurance-increasingly-unaffordable-as-climate-change-brings-more-disasters/">https://www.marketplace.org/2020/08/31/insurance-increasingly-unaffordable-as-climate-change-brings-more-disasters/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Children's questions]<br>
<b>'What can I do to help the climate?' and other questions kids are
asking about climate change</b><br>
Children wonder whether climate change will lead to more lightning
strikes, why different parts of the world have different climates,
and more.<br>
By Sara Peach | Friday, August 28, 2020<br>
Dear readers,<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<b>What can I do to help the climate? (Eve, no age given)</b><br>
There's a lot that you can do to help the climate. Kids all over the
world are working together on the problem.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<b>Should we expect more hurricanes in the future here? (Collin, no
age given)</b><br>
Dear Collin,<br>
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."<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<b>Will there be more lightning here when the climate changes? (Xi,
age 6)</b><br>
Scientists aren't sure yet.<br>
<br>
"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.<br>
<br>
No matter what happens in the future, you can follow these steps to
stay safe from lightning.<br>
<blockquote>If you hear thunder, go inside a building or a car.<br>
Stay away from windows, doors, and porches. If you're in a car,
close the windows.<br>
Unplug any electrical devices you're using, such as a computer.<br>
Don't use faucets in the sink or bathtub during a thunderstorm.
This is an excellent excuse not to take a bath.<br>
</blockquote>
<b>Why do different parts of the world have different climates? Are
they all changing? (Carlyle, age 9)</b><br>
Dear Carlyle,<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<b>What can we learn from how the climate changed before? (no name
given)</b><br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
'Where did the climate come from?' and other kids' questions about
climate change<br>
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...<br>
<br>
Thanks again for all of your questions. I enjoyed reading them.<br>
- Sara<br>
Got a question about climate change? Send it to
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:sara@yaleclimateconnections.org">sara@yaleclimateconnections.org</a>. Questions may be edited for length
and clarity.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/08/kids-questions-about-climate-change-part-2/">https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/08/kids-questions-about-climate-change-part-2/</a><br>
<p>- -</p>
[resilience talk]<br>
<b>Erik Assadourian: Post-doom with Michael Dowd</b><br>
Aug 31, 2020<br>
thegreatstory<br>
This conversation with Erik Assadourian was recorded in August 2020.
For more information on Erik Assadourian, see <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://gaianism.org">http://gaianism.org</a>
and <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://gaianism.org/author/erik">http://gaianism.org/author/erik</a><br>
"Post-doom: Regenerative conversations exploring overshoot, grief,
grounding and gratitude."<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdjPKVo2ixo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdjPKVo2ixo</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[activist philosopher]<br>
<b>Non-Violent Direct Action - Method or Madness? | Extinction
Rebellion</b><br>
Aug 31, 2020<br>
Extinction Rebellion<br>
"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.<br>
<br>
Non-Violent Direct Action has worked at points throughout history
but does that mean it can work for Extinction Rebellion now?<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG2-OGUdoyM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG2-OGUdoyM</a><br>
<p>- - <br>
</p>
[basics of Extinction Rebellion]<br>
<b>Heading for Extinction Talk with Bors Hulesch and Sara Hudston |
Extinction Rebellion UK</b><br>
Aug 20, 2020<br>
Extinction Rebellion<br>
Latest version of the Heading for Extinction Talk (August 2020) with
Bors Hulesch and Sara Hudston<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3yRv1B8Y-w">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3yRv1B8Y-w</a><br>
<br>
<br>
[two thoughtful videos on culture]<br>
<b>Developmental Politics Simplified in 5-Minutes</b><br>
Feb 5, 2020<br>
Stephen McIntosh<br>
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.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAvMcui3_y0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAvMcui3_y0</a><br>
<p>- - <br>
</p>
<p><b>How to Overcome Political Polarization in 5-Minutes</b><br>
Mar 22, 2020<br>
Stephen McIntosh<br>
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.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvz96-0EDdU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvz96-0EDdU</a>
<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[smart audio interview]<br>
<b>Professor Kevin Anderson | Climate action failure, equality + the
climate crisis</b><br>
Aug 20, 2020<br>
Nick Breeze<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTaqd6rn2RA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTaqd6rn2RA</a><br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
[important audio interview on mindset resilience psychology]<br>
<b>Climate Psychologist Dr. Renee Lertzman - Principals for attuned
thinking in a time of crisis</b><br>
Aug 13, 2020<br>
Nick Breeze<br>
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. <br>
<br>
Renee talks here about how climate professionals can become better
leaders and show guidance by becoming attuned to those whom we
engage with. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Of course this is also a time of opportunity, when radical new
thinking can shape a vastly better future than the current horizon
suggests.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L24Kq0GgDVg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L24Kq0GgDVg</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
[Digging back into the internet news archive]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming -
September 1, 2002 </b></font><br>
<p>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.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2228741.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2228741.stm</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/09/01/blair.climate.glb/">http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/09/01/blair.climate.glb/</a><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
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