Want to know if a town is climate-proof? Here’s a list of the measures we can examine, town by town. Buddy and I will be adding them week by week. When an indicator listed below has information, it will become clickable (dark red).
PHYSICAL VULNERABILITY
Climate change effects - storms, flooding, drought, heat, wildfires, and others - can be dangerous not just to our physical safety and our asset values, but also to our local economy and our government's tax base and budget.
THE NATIONAL RISK INDEX
CLIMATECHECK DATA
OVERALL HOUSING RISK (coming)
FLOOD RISK - FEMA (coming)
FLOOD RISK - ATTOM (coming)
STORM SURGE (coming)
SEA LEVEL RISE (coming)
WILDFIRE RISK (coming)
PREPARATION and ATTITUDES
Some towns are more resilient when facing external stresses such as natural disasters. If your hometown is well informed, forward-looking, and proactive about protecting against the effects of climate change, you have a better chance of minimizing the costs and disruptions.
SOCIAL VULNERABILITY
STATE PREPAREDNESS (coming)
RECOGNITION OF COMMUNITY DANGER
RECOGNITION OF PERSONAL DANGERS
HEALTH
The slow-growing but expensive impacts on our health from climate change can be difficult to notice. Warming increases the production of pollen and the spread of disease. Sewer overflows contaminate downstream land and water. And there is evidence of growing mental health problems caused by climate disruptions.
TREE POLLEN CHANGE (coming)
STATE and LOCAL COSTS
A big portion of our costs from climate change will reach us as taxes and fees paid to state and local government, as they cope with increasing pressure on our water systems, flood protections, and other infrastructure and services. Facing these costs, some localities are better prepared than others.
COASTAL COUNTY
COASTAL STATE
DROUGHT RISK (coming)
DEFICIENT BRIDGES (coming)
CITY MANAGEMENT
STATE AND LOCAL TAX BURDEN (coming)
STATE UNFUNDED PENSIONS
STATE FINANCIAL RESERVES
ENERGY COSTS
Energy costs are low today and are hard to forecast. But choosing to live where our energy needs are naturally low cuts our risks if the costs of fossil fuels rise significantly. This could happen because of market shifts, but there are other climate-related developments that could cause price increases, such as court rulings against oil companies, re-enforcement of recently dropped environmental protections, or legislative actions to impose carbon taxes.
NEED FOR HEATING AND COOLING (coming)
SUNLIGHT (coming)
WIND POWER (coming)
NET METERING (coming)
TOTAL ENERGY COSTS (coming)
COST OF LIVING
Climate change is imposing new, unexpected, and stealthy drains on our family finances. If we are to prevent those new costs from swamping our budget, it will pay to live where existing costs are already low.
CLIMATE IMPACT ON LOCAL GDP (coming)
COST OF LIVING (coming)
HOW LONG $1 MILLIION WILL LAST IN RETIREMENT (coming)
HEALTHCARE COSTS (coming)
HEALTHCARE QUALITY (coming)
HOUSING COSTS (coming)
TRANSPORTATION COSTS
Transportation is the second biggest cost category for the average American family. It is very dependent on 1) fuel prices and 2) where you live. You can choose to live where your transportation costs are likely to remain low.
WALKSCORE (coming)
BICYCLE FRIENDLY (coming)
Looking forward to hearing about specific locations that are considered safe.
David- this information takes my breath away.
I’m certainly not prepared for the new world, it’s climate or economy. Am looking forward to reading more and attempting to understand what you’re sharing with me. You and Buddy took quite a flight!