Who Will Pay for Climate Change Disaster?

[Jefferson23]

A discussion with Patrick Bond on the lack of political will to deal with climate change and the forces mobilizing for action

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Bio

Patrick Bond is the Director of the Center for Civil Society and Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Bond is the author and editor of the recently released books, Politics of Climate Justice and Durban’s Climate Gamble.
Transcript
Who Will Pay for Climate Change Disaster?PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Baltimore. The IPCC report from the United Nations on climate change--Working Group II said the following. Describing the effects of what they say now will be the consequences of climate change are the following:

"i. Risk of death, injury, ill-health, or disrupted livelihoods in low-lying coastal zones and small island developing states and other small islands, due to storm surges, coastal flooding, and sea-level rise.

"ii. Risk of severe ill-health and disrupted livelihoods for large urban populations due to inland flooding in some regions.

"iii. Systemic risks due to extreme weather events leading to breakdown of infrastructure networks and critical services such as electricity, water supply, and health and emergency services.

"iv. Risk of mortality and morbidity during periods of extreme heat, particularly for vulnerable urban populations and those working outdoors in urban or rural areas.


Now joining us in the studio to discuss the politics of climate

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11768

[Jefferson23]

1. Climate changes visible by ZIP code with new online tools

April 20, 2014

With the click of a computer mouse, the potential risks of rising sea levels will soon be searchable — by ZIP code — for all U.S. coastal communities.

An online mapping tool will show how much sea levels are expected to rise in each area, as well as the number of residents and buildings that could be flooded. Initially launched in March 2012 for New York, New Jersey and Florida, it will expand to cover New England on Wednesday, the Pacific states later this spring and the rest of the coastal U.S. by the end of summer.

"This is a brave new world. Rising seas are posing a totally new challenge to American ingenuity," says Ben Strauss, vice president for climate impacts at Climate Central, a non-profit group based in Princeton, N.J. It used private foundation funding to create the "Surging Seas" database. The results, based on data from more than 10 federal agencies, tell a sobering story.

In New York City, for example, different projections suggest sea level will rise nearly a foot by 2040. But as storms come along in the future, there's more than a one in three chance for a 6-foot flood by that year, Strauss says. That would be more than a foot higher than anything on record except Superstorm Sandy, which caused massive flood damage in Manhattan and parts of New Jersey in October 2012. A 6-foot flood level would be high enough to threaten the subway system again, Strauss says.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/20/climate-change-new-online-tools/7739415/