economic impact

An uninsurable future

October 31, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The U.S. home insurance industry is in turmoil. For years it has underestimated the risks posed by climate change intensified storms, wildfires, and other natural disasters. The increased costs associated with rising sea levels, powerful hurricanes, drenching rainstorms, massive wildfires, and more have pushed insurers to the limit.

According to the director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment at UC Berkeley, the world is marching toward an uninsurable future. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell predicts that in 10 or 15 years, there will be regions of the country where you can’t get a mortgage because home insurance is unavailable.

Dozens of insurance companies have collapsed or have been declared insolvent in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and California. In the period 2018-2023, insurers canceled nearly 2 million homeowner’s policies in response to rising climate risks. Premiums have skyrocketed in many places, making them unaffordable for many homeowners.

More than 30 states have created Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plans, which are state-managed programs that provide a last resort homeowners insurance option. In these plans risks are distributed among multiple participating insurers.

Some analysts believe that the federal government may have to step in to prop up the precarious home insurance market, much as it did in 1968 when the National Flood Insurance Program was created. Now that the Trump administration is aggressively rolling back climate initiatives and encouraging more fossil fuel use, we are all going to have to foot the bill.

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How Climate Risks Are Putting Home Insurance Out of Reach

Photo, posted May 13, 2023, courtesy of Kevin Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Wildfires and jobs

October 10, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In January 2025, a series of destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County killed as many as 440 people, forced more than 200,000 to evacuate their homes, destroyed more than 18,000 homes and structures, and burned over 57,000 acres of land. A study by the nonpartisan California Policy Lab found that the fires also had a significant impact on employment in the area.

According to the report, unemployment claims increased between 12% and 17% due to the January fires. An estimated 6,300-8,700 employees in Los Angeles filed for regular unemployment insurance because of the wildfires.

Unemployment claims surged not only in the actual fire zones but also among people living far from the fires who commuted to work in the fire areas. There were large increases in claims from workers in low-wage industries like accommodation and food services, and workers with low levels of education, especially in neighborhoods where many residents commute to fire-affected areas.

An additional 5,000 workers filed for the federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, including gig workers, independent contractors, and the self-employed – people who are usually excluded from regular unemployment insurance. This brought the total number of workers who filed due to the fires to between 11,300 and 13,700.

The study highlighted the critical role that unemployment insurance benefits can play after natural disasters. The fires were a disaster for everyone.

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More than 11,000 workers filed for unemployment assistance programs because of Los Angeles wildfires, new report shows

Photo, posted January 8, 2025, courtesy of Cory Doctorow via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Cars And Cleaner Air | Earth Wise

January 20, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cities are awash in microscopic soot and other pollutants from the tailpipes of vehicles. Apart from contributing substantially to the warming of the planet, these emissions have a significant impact on human health. Research at Cornell University has determined that the continued growth of electric cars will lead to cleaner air and reduced human mortality in most if not all U.S. metropolitan areas.

The study, published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, estimated the health impact and consequential economic impact of cleaner air in American cities as a result of the transition to electric vehicles.

For example, by 2050, Los Angeles will have 1,163 fewer premature deaths annually, corresponding to $12.6 billion in economic health benefits. Greater New York City could see 574 fewer deaths a year leading to $6.24 billion in associated economic gains.

Global sales of electric cars have grown steadily. In 2016, they accounted for less than 1% of the market. That share grew to 2.2% in 2018, 4.1% in 2020, and 6.6% in 2021.

In the U.S., electric cars accounted for 4.5% of sales in 2021, but in many cities, the numbers were much higher.

These trends are likely to accelerate as a combination of government policies and major decisions by automakers drive a rapid transition to electrification. While mitigating the effects of climate change continues to be the main driving force for that transition, the human health benefits will be a very significant reward for doing the right thing for the planet.

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Electric car sales drive toward cleaner air, less mortality

Photo, posted May 11, 2021, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio