A Few More Things on Climate Change...

...when Sir David Attenborough says we are on the verge of the collapse of our civilization, it's time to listen (and probably a bit past time to head off such a situation).
...retreating from rising seas has become a thing, a thing that no one wants to do even though eventually they will have no choice.
...even the US Naval Academy in Annapolis isn't immune to sea level rise.
...the recent California wildfires have caused an insurance company to go bankrupt (something tells me this will become a common thing in the not-so-distant future).

Some things for you to ponder...
...are you living in a place that will avoid the worst of climate-related disasters (rising sea levels, more and stronger hurricanes, etc)?
...can you be self-sufficient with your utilities (solar and wind power, a well that won't dry up, etc)?
...how much of your income will be impacted by climate change (like the people who worked for the above-mentioned insurance company)?
...can you help improve your own food security (global warming is/will have a drastic impact on the food system)?
...can you self-insure when it comes to your house and property?

We are already seeing many changes related to the climate but still, nothing is really being done on the global scale to address this so it is yet another thing you need to prepare for.  The sooner, the better.

While You Were Out Today...

...a government report on climate change was quietly released this morning.  The report (I've only read the news article, not the actual report) gives a bunch of dire predictions about what will happen as temperatures continue to rise.  If you are planning for your near and long-term future, it just makes sense to plan with how climate change will personally impact you in mind.  Consider:

• Should you move to a place that will be less impacted by climate change?
• How will you ensure your water supply (even now wells are drying up and municipal water supplies in some places are at risk)?
• If crops decline how will you get your food (maybe take up gardening?)?
• How can you protect yourself against food-borne and water-borne diseases which tend to increase with higher temperatures?
• How will you ensure your electricity supply when the grid is over taxed (maybe install a solar power system)?
• Do you live in an area that is more and more likely to be impacted by increased tornadoes, wildfires, and flooding?  How will you deal with these things?

Like many things that move slowly yet inexorably towards a bad outcome, people often focus their attention on more pressing needs then are surprised when the slow moving crisis arrives.  Don't let this happen to you by planning now for what lies ahead.

Things to Consider About Climate Change

Whether you believe in climate change or not, it is clear that our world is getting warmer.  Here are some things to consider:

• A warmer world has a negative impact on the poor (and poorer countries).
• A warmer world has a negative impact on overall health.
• A warmer world may also increase violence.
• A warmer world is driving migration and food insecurity.
• A warmer world is driving an increase in wildfires too.
• If you are concerned about climate resilience, this is a good place to start.

Climate Refugees

Climate change is a thing (to most people, there are also climate deniers but that happens on just about every issue of national importance these days).  Most people are oblivious to this unless you live somewhere like Cape Town but I think this is a topic that we cannot keep overlooking or just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. 

When I first moved to Las Vegas there were 1.95 million people and now there are 2.15 million people--that's a huge increase in less than a decade.  The problem with this--other than congestion on the roads--is that we live in a desert and our main source of water is the Colorado River which is both finite and shared with Arizona and California which are also seeing dramatic increases in population.  This is obviously going to become a problem eventually.  In addition, our summers are becoming hotter and longer and whether that indicates climate change or the cyclical nature of weather, the bottom line is that living in a very hot desert with dwindling water supplies is an issue.

There are already several examples of climate change refugees (examples here, here, and here) and while most people won't even give a second thought to people who live a world away, as this article points out, pretty soon this issue may be on our own doorstep.

There are several things you need to consider if you don't want to make yourself and your family climate refugees (ie: you don't leave the place where you live which is being bombarded by climate issues such as flooding or drought until your home has lost most of its value and you can no longer buy property insurance due to the overwhelming costs in your area):

• How is your area looking on this drought map?
• How is your area looking on this climate change impact map?
• How is your area looking on this crime map?
• And this set of maps will let you drill down on many other topics (health, wealth, etc).

If you do decide to move proactively, you will want to use the above maps to determine the best place to move to.  You can also Google 'best place to live when TSHTF' and find oodles of articles that people have put together which talk about how they determined their own best place to live based on a number of factors.

Among the factors that I am looking at for our possible move include:

• An area with few natural disasters (like flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc)
• An area with good natural resources (water, trees, soil that perks, etc)
• An area a couple of hours away from a large city
• An area with good internet 
• An area with good gun laws
• An area with a population of 20k to 50k and stable
• An area with access to military services (base, VA, healthcare, etc)
• An area with reasonable taxes (income tax, property tax, sales, tax, etc)
• An area with a reasonable climate
• Nice to haves would include being nearer to family, a few casinos nearby, and I don't have to shovel snow in the winter.

Note that these factors work for us, younger people would need to look at things like access to education, availability of jobs, nearness to a major airport if you travel a lot, etc.