America’s natural disaster problem

It is a bruising time here along civilization’s western most outpost . As the Los Angeles wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades fade from our all too short attention spans we are busy trying to set these events into context. Homeowner insurance rates are to rise, and not just for the victims of the natural disaster but across the continent. The nonsensical may gripe about the rising costs but the risk evaluators know the costs real estate ownership are elevated and only going to grow more so. Rebuilding in the Pacific Palisades is nowhere near ready to proceed, when it does estimates are it will cost at least $1000 per/foot to build here. That is a deal breaker for many. It will take too many years and too many dollars and in the end all of it could simply reignite and burn again.

More anxiety is brewing. None of us signed up for a life of relentless heatwaves, droughts, super storms and wildfire. 

At the human level, at our most basic existence, where we are alone lost in the revelry of our inner thoughts, the climate emergency is eroding our sense of security, of our feeling grounded, of our instinct to belong. How do we really belong when we learn it is possible the home we live in and the town where we reside can be wiped off the map?

It is becoming increasingly clear there is nowhere to escape to, that our homes can burn in LA, beachfront property can be submerged by sea level rise, rivers can go to flood stage, and if there is a power outage during a real heatwave that this high heat can be dangerous, people can be killed. We may all want to throw up our hands in frustration, there may be no easy answers, there may be no answer whatsoever. We simply may all be living in an unfixable world.

The Americans I talk with understand. All of us know that it is our world’s challenge to respond. When you drill down and look at the new carbon free technologies, it isn’t like we don’t have the answers so much as we lack the ability to meet the moment with all due haste. 

Obstacles large and small block progress. Agreement is never simple or easy. Capitalism, corporations and legacy carbon-based industries are resisting. The energy transition threatens their livelihoods. We haven’t cracked the code. We can’t take a coalminer, snap our fingers and presto like that turn that worker into a wind-turbine service technician. We can’t make enough good paying jobs for a coal fired power station with 500 employees to instantly create enough new jobs in the renewable energy sector for these workers to fall back on. The big shots in our world know the little guy with a good paying job in the fossil fuel biz isn’t convinced the energy transition is worth the pain. 

If we look at recent history incompetence abounds. Globalization has been the cause of much blowback. In 2008 we learned that our financial sector can be the source of enormous trouble. And then of course there was the pandemic triggered by Covid-19. This is a mere the top of my head short list. The damage done by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is ongoing. Our most important trading partners in Europe because of Russian natural gas shortages have struggled. Slower growing economies suffering spikes in prices have predictably fueled political trouble. You need look no further than United Kingdom’s economically damaging decision they voted to exit from the European Union. The success of the Brexit referendum is tied to Silicon Valley’s unholy alliance between our digital overlords and the blizzard of disinformation, algorithms and Russian fueled bots used to turn our British working class against their own best interests.

On top of all our challenges the United States is faced with a historically unprecedented political crisis. With wildfire damages estimated to exceed $250 billion dollars there are Republicans trying to hold relief funds hostage. The President is trying to force a variety of poison pills into the package. California is by far the single most powerful economic force of all our 50 states, and it is no small thing this thing we call state’s rights. For the moment Washington cannot force California to act against its own best interests. 

   Depending on your age rebuilding after the fires may not be an option. There are new homes that will require designs and planning commissioner approval. There are construction crews to hire and a dizzying array of building supplies to truck into the disaster areas. Nonexistent homes with mortgages still require being paid off. Finding temporary housing in the area is going to cost a small fortune. Whether schools can be reopened, whether there is a will to build new fire stations, libraries, and shopping centers is all still being debated. Many experts think additional very expensive water reservoir tanks need to be built. Some believe building codes will need to be strengthened, that fire resistant roofing, doors, windows and residential garden landscapes will make the Pacific Palisades and Altadena too expensive even for our wealthiest citizens. 

None of this is part of my mission statement. I am a climate change comedy screenwriter. The whole project is based on the premise of finding stories we can all laugh about. Stories that tell us about our changing climate, that illustrate some the hazards we face, yet still give us a way forward, a way for all of us to prevail against all odds.

Those odds have grown steeper and our challenges more difficult. Maybe you find yourself moving for a new job, new dreams, new changes. Your next place is maybe less vulnerable to wildfire, drought and flood. Maybe the new place makes sense. If I move it will include an assessment of the risks. If I don’t move it will include efforts to mitigate the risks.

That matters to the core of my inner soul. We are a dangerous animal. Can we tame ourselves in time? The answer to that question will tell us something about human survival, civilization collapse and whether we can feel safe in our homes ever again.