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By the end of August, the United States had already broken the one-year record for the number of weather and climate disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through August there had already been 23 billion-dollar disasters. The previous record of 22 had been set in 2020. The 23 this year racked up $58 billion in damages.

The unfortunate litany of events included two in August: Hurricane Idalia, which struck Florida’s Big Bend region and the Lahaina fire storm on Maui. Earlier in the year, winter storms in the Northeast, floods in California and Vermont, and 18 other severe storm events contributed to the record.

With a very active Atlantic hurricane season underway and the prospects for more wildfires in the west, it is likely that the record for billion-dollar disasters will climb even higher before the year ends.

The massive financial losses incurred this year highlight the need for more funding and attention to be directed toward climate resistance and adaptation. The NOAA report urges policymakers to invest much more in getting out ahead of disasters before they strike rather than only looking for ways to help communities to pick up the pieces after disaster has struck.

Congress is currently considering $16 billion in additional funding for FEMA to keep the agency functioning in this very trying year.

As climate change continues to contribute to more intense storms and larger and more frequent wildfires, the price of adaptation and recovery efforts is likely to continue to grow.

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2023 has already broken the US record for billion-dollar climate disasters

Photo, posted August 31, 2023, courtesy of Spc. Christian Wilson / The National Guard via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Many of the nation’s environmental laws are under siege from the current administration, but a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has solidified the Clean Water Act’s place as one of the country’s most effective environmental laws.

The case in question was about whether a wastewater treatment plant in Maui has been violating the Clean Water Act by polluting the ocean indirectly through groundwater. Since the 1980s, the Lahaina wastewater treatment facility has been discharging millions of gallons of treated sewage each day into groundwater that reaches the waters off of Kahekili Beach, which is a popular snorkeling spot. Groundwater, like any water beneath the land’s surface, can flow into major waterways such as rivers, streams, and, in this case, the ocean.

In 2012, the nonprofit Earthjustice sued Maui county on behalf of four Maui community groups. Over the years, the Hawaii district court and the 9^th Circuit appeals court ruled in favor of Earthjustice. Last year, Maui County successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme court to hear the case, which could have endangered the Clean Water Act.

On April 23, by a 6-3 vote, the court ruled that point source discharges to navigable waters through groundwater are regulated by the Clean Water Act when the addition of pollutants through groundwater is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge into navigable waters.

With this ruling, the Court rejected the Trump administration’s polluter-friendly position in the clearest of terms. According to the opinion, written by Justice Breyer, the Court could not see how Congress could have intended to create such a large and obvious loophole in one of the key innovations of the Clean Water Act. This is a victory for clean water.

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The Clean Water Case of the Century

Photo, posted June 30, 2018, courtesy of Kirt Edblom via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Billion-Dollar Disasters | Earth Wise

By the end of August, the United States had already broken the one-year record for the number of weather and climate disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage.

Web Links

A Victory For Clean Water | Earth Wise

Many of the nation’s environmental laws are under siege from the current administration, but a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has solidified the Clean Water Act’s place as one of the country’s most effective environmental laws.

Web Links