Climate Change

[pipbarber]

The insurance issue is a perfect snapshot of how unfit market economies are to dealing with climate change. For local markets to survive and for the inane growth mantra to continue, capitalism needs government to step in and provide insurance and income support, which directly contradicts neoliberal economic theory. And yet, politicians from both sides of the duopolies still defend neoliberalism.

Our economic theory is demonstrably ill-suited to our collective needs, our politicians are ignoring the fact and we are facing a future of one natural disaster after another.

It's no wonder anarchism is having its renaissance.

[Irrev-Black]

Cancelled it? Just like Ron DeSantis cancelled flood insurance for millions of Florida residents?

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' spokesperson via email for comment on Wednesday.

"As we here in Florida prepare for Hurricane Idalia, here is your annual reminder that one of Ron DeSantis's first official acts as Congressman was voting against flood insurance aid to Hurricane Sandy victims," lawyer and former candidate for Florida attorney general, Daniel Uhlfelder, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Uhlfelder said in a previous post on X that "DeSantis voted against [a] bill to provide $9.7 billion in flood insurance aid for Hurricane Sandy victims. The bill passed the House on a 354-67 vote. It passed the Senate unanimously by voice vote."

Many insurance companies are just refusing to insure houses in Florida now, there are only a few left and premiums are 4 times higher than for other areas in the US, many residents simply can't afford insurance, but help for people after Hurricane Sandy, amazingly the bill passed 354 to 67 in a Republican dominated house, you would think this would be a message to DeSantis, but no, he voted against it, now as Governor he has the power to block it, the same will happen this time, come on Florida, do the right thing, get rid of the piece of excrement of a human being!

https://www.newsweek.com/florida-uninsu ... in-1823350

Now, why would Ron do a thing like that?

Property insurance costs have nearly doubled under DeSantis, a major recipient of industry cash — and a little-noticed change to the state law governing “bad faith” insurance lawsuits pushed through by the governor and the GOP-controlled legislature this spring could make it harder than ever for homeowners now facing record levels of property damage to get a fair shake from their insurers.

Consumer advocates and attorneys say the recent property insurance overhaul, billed by DeSantis as a fix for skyrocketing premiums and unreliable coverage, instead amounted to an industry bailout — and that not only did the legislation fail to help homeowners, it will also effectively hamper their ability to sue insurers that wrongfully deny, delay, or underpay claims.

https://jacobin.com/2022/11/ron-desanti ... e-election

[Irrev-Black]

Fire danger: you may now officially start shitting yourselves.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-03/ ... /102808452

[Irrev-Black]

As the wise, masked, chaps of TISM told us: "just don't come from a western suburb"...

Last week, I raised an alarming statistic to my TikTok Audience.

In six months’ time, western Sydney will be the hottest place on earth. And no, I was not exaggerating.



The result? Instantly viral.

Thousands of comments and messages asked how we’ve got to this point. And while climate change is playing a factor, you might be surprised to know there’s a much bigger issue ‘boiling’ away in Western Sydney.

Now let me hear you say it, Class: "Urban. Heat. Island".

https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-sprawling ... 56634.html

[stylofone]

"Urban. Heat. Island".

The houses filling up the whole block shows people no longer value their outdoor space. I suspect a lot of the indoor space isn't needed or used effectively anyway. It's more a fashion or an attempted status symbol. But people seem to like big houses, and land is expensive.

But the black roofs are harder to explain. People just seem to choose something that makes their house worse. Or is there some other benefit they see that I'm not aware of?

[Irrev-Black]

I've just expended my third nag to get Council to mow their land area below the Black Tower's spacious grounds.

The idea of thigh-high dry grass doesn't appeal on days like this.

Got to hurry up and get some saltbush plants planted along that edge. They're fire-resistant.

[Irrev-Black]

Well... there's one extreme-heat coping stratagem for this summer wrecked.

As temperatures rise, people look for heat relief in various ways. Electric fans, which move air around a person’s body and help evaporation cool their skin, are one of the most affordable cooling methods. However, there are limits to fans’ ability to fight the heat.

According to the World Health Organization, when temperatures rise above 35°C, fans may no longer help prevent heat-related illnesses. And at higher temperatures, they can turn dangerous, moving too much hot air over a person’s skin and potentially fostering adverse health effects.

Heat risks arise from a combination of temperature, people’s health vulnerability and extent of exposure to high heat, and their ability to adapt to the heat (such as by using cooling methods like air-conditioning or fans). To better understand heat hazards and risks in the United States, Parsons et al. used hourly temperature data based on historical weather observations over the continental United States from 1950 to 2021 and compared these data with gridded population data to determine where people face the greatest heat hazards. They focused especially on the hazards when temperatures reached 37°C and 39°C, thresholds recently recommended by heat experts for safe electric fan use by older adults on certain medications and young, healthy adults, respectively.

https://eos.org/research-spotlights/whe ... t-for-fans

[pipbarber]

I have a client that lives in one of a complex of old public housing towers. Built in the 50s and 60s, back when providing mass public housing was something governments did. Unfortunately, the towers that i visit have zero air conditioning. 30 floors up. Thousands of people, children, babies, no air-con. They have fans, from what i've seen, but 35C is a low bar for fans.

[stylofone]

Well... there's one extreme-heat coping stratagem for this summer wrecked

As well as a fan, you can use at least one of those spray bottles with an adjustable nozzle that can create a mist. They are a few bucks from the Reject Shop. On the really hot days, having a bath full of cold water to dunk yourself in from time to time is also good. Another important thing is to wear the least amount of clothes you can deal with in your social situation, although some people would rather die than give up the nudity taboo, it'll probably last as long as capitalism.

[pipbarber]

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... chief-says

I have a lot of time for Greg Mullins. Author of Firestorm, a book about the black summer bushfires that is required reading, imo, and a rare truth teller on climate change in the aftermath of those fires.

$65 billion a year on fossil fuel subsidies! LOL Labor are a fucking joke.