Safety in the Face of the Climate Crisis
Safety in the Face of the Climate Crisis
Jamie Greenberger Updated Apr 22, 2021
Six years, 261 days, and just under 20 hours. At the time of writing, this is how long we had to achieve zero emissions. By the time you see this article, we’re closer to the point of no return than ever before.
Millions of people all over the world are already experiencing the dire consequences of climate change. Closer to home, an increase in the frequency, strength, and devastation of hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, heatwaves, winter storms, and rising sea levels marked 2020 as a record-breaking year for climate catastrophe.
But not every corner of the country faces the same threats. Some states are safer than others when it comes to a warming planet, while others are at risk of nearly every climate change threat we know of. Utilizing States at Risk’s data set, we narrowed down exactly which threats each state faces to determine the safest and most vulnerable locations. We also surveyed over 1,000 people to get a better idea of how the public approaches the climate crisis. Keep reading to see the risks facing your state and what you can do to combat the climate crisis straight from your home.
The Impacts
According to our survey, 62% of U.S. adults believe climate change is a threat, but 11.5% don’t believe in climate change at all. These perceptions have a tremendous impact on the steps people take to protect the environment. The majority of Americans said they recycle (64.3%), nearly half also pick up trash (48.7%) and just over a quarter have purchased smart devices to limit energy use (15.8%). Nevertheless, 24% of those that don’t believe in climate change or don’t think it’s a threat refrain from practicing any environment-related habits.
Believe in it or not, climate change causes a plethora of problems. For this piece, we focused on the top five: extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding, and coastal flooding. Here’s a breakdown of what each is and how it affects our safety.
Extreme heat
Extreme heat is exactly what it sounds like: periods of weather that are significantly hotter than the average temperature of a specific time and place. But this doesn’t just mean that summers will be a bit warmer or pool days will outnumber snow days. Extreme heat events kill hundreds of Americans each year and cause even more to become ill. Plus, extreme heat often comes with increased humidity, making it more difficult for water to evaporate and sweat less effective at cooling us. This combination makes extreme heat one of the most threatening aspects of climate change.
Drought
While there are various definitions and types of droughts, meteorologists agree that “droughts are prolonged periods of dry weather caused by a lack of precipitation that results in a serious water shortage for some activity, population, or ecological system.” Simply put, droughts occur when little water comes in, and too much goes out.
As the Earth heats up and extreme heat periods become more common, droughts will also increase in frequency and severity. Since extreme heat events often accompany droughts, it’s difficult to nail down the mortality rate associated with dry spells. However, droughts are known to negatively impact agriculture, water supplies, and energy production — all of which increase the risk of people dying.
Wildfires
Humans ignite more than 84% of wildfires, but climate change is a key factor in the spread and severity once the fires start. Temperature, soil moisture, and the presence of trees, shrubs, and other potential fuels determine the range, intensity, and longevity of wildfires. As climate change causes warmer, drier conditions and an increase in droughts, wildfires become more and more of a risk.
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