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I mean, I get people are sad if they get forced out of their homes over this, but it's not like it's a surprise that storms and flooding are more damaging and m

I mean, I get people are sad if they get forced out of their homes over this, but it's not like it's a surprise that storms and flooding are more damaging and more frequent. I feel zero outrage here.

bkfunk 1y ago
> I get people are sad if they get forced out of their homes for this Wow, what a way to dismiss the humanity and worth of millions of people. First of all, in some cases it actually IS a surprise: historical flood data was often quite limited and cities and communities formed before there were accurate estimates of flooding probability, let alone enough understanding of climate change to predict 21st century flooding probability. If you’re thinking “this side of the street floods, but not the other side, just move across the street”, in many places that is not at all the situation. Miami (avg elevation: 5.9 ft) and New Orleans (elevation from -6.6 to 19.7 ft) are large, dense (by American standards) cities that have existed for over a hundred years. Giant swathes of them are in flood plains. You cannot move a third or more of a city’s residents in any reasonable time—there aren’t enough housing units, never mind the schools and utility capacity and businesses and everything else needed to support a community of people. Plus, most Americans, if they own a home, the vast majority of their net worth is in their house. You pull the insurance, that value vaporizes. Sure, from the perspective of the overall economy, that may seem more efficient. But individuals can use economic efficiency for a down payment. Congratulations, you just vanished billions of dollars of assets! Hope that doesn’t affect the banking system or the local economy! And they can’t move across the street—to get out of the flood plain they may have to move a significant distance, and people already live in the higher areas of the city: effectively (especially for low and moderate income families) they have to move > 50 miles away. That means they lose their social network, support system, and likely their job. Moving a long distance is expensive, extremely stressful, and can break the few remaining social bonds that we now know are a huge factor in everything from recovering from bankruptcy to whether someone is too disabled to work, to how long people live. > I feel zero outrage here. I’m not sure anyone is trying to get you to feel outrage? Like it’s a hard policy problem that greatly affects millions of people. Maybe you could just…care?
- IAmBroom 1y ago
  The first time a house is flooded, I care. When flooded after it's been rebuilt with funds that come from my pockets, either through insurance rates or taxes, I care much less. The third and subsequent times, I worry that they are still judged mentally fit to vote.
  - FireBeyond 1y ago
    > The third and subsequent times, I worry that they are still judged mentally fit to vote. Not discounting that having your home flooded and needing to rebuilt is in any way a desirable outcome, and not a huge inconvenience to your life... why would they change that? "I'm getting a new/updated home!"
- triceratops 1y ago
  > Maybe you could just…care? Florida voters firmly support their government denying the root cause of the problem. Maybe they could start caring.
- ubermonkey 1y ago
  Congratulations for rebutting, or attempting to, a number of points I was not making. I lived in Houston for 30+ years. I'm very familiar with the problem.

I mean, I get people are sad if they get forced out of their homes over this, but it's not like it's a surprise that storms and flooding are more damaging and more frequent. I feel zero outrage here.

bkfunk 1y ago

> I get people are sad if they get forced out of their homes for this Wow, what a way to dismiss the humanity and worth of millions of people. First of all, in some cases it actually IS a surprise: historical flood data was often quite limited and cities and communities formed before there were accurate estimates of flooding probability, let alone enough understanding of climate change to predict 21st century flooding probability. If you’re thinking “this side of the street floods, but not the other side, just move across the street”, in many places that is not at all the situation. Miami (avg elevation: 5.9 ft) and New Orleans (elevation from -6.6 to 19.7 ft) are large, dense (by American standards) cities that have existed for over a hundred years. Giant swathes of them are in flood plains. You cannot move a third or more of a city’s residents in any reasonable time—there aren’t enough housing units, never mind the schools and utility capacity and businesses and everything else needed to support a community of people. Plus, most Americans, if they own a home, the vast majority of their net worth is in their house. You pull the insurance, that value vaporizes. Sure, from the perspective of the overall economy, that may seem more efficient. But individuals can use economic efficiency for a down payment. Congratulations, you just vanished billions of dollars of assets! Hope that doesn’t affect the banking system or the local economy! And they can’t move across the street—to get out of the flood plain they may have to move a significant distance, and people already live in the higher areas of the city: effectively (especially for low and moderate income families) they have to move > 50 miles away. That means they lose their social network, support system, and likely their job. Moving a long distance is expensive, extremely stressful, and can break the few remaining social bonds that we now know are a huge factor in everything from recovering from bankruptcy to whether someone is too disabled to work, to how long people live. > I feel zero outrage here. I’m not sure anyone is trying to get you to feel outrage? Like it’s a hard policy problem that greatly affects millions of people. Maybe you could just…care?

IAmBroom 1y ago
The first time a house is flooded, I care. When flooded after it's been rebuilt with funds that come from my pockets, either through insurance rates or taxes, I care much less. The third and subsequent times, I worry that they are still judged mentally fit to vote.
- FireBeyond 1y ago
  > The third and subsequent times, I worry that they are still judged mentally fit to vote. Not discounting that having your home flooded and needing to rebuilt is in any way a desirable outcome, and not a huge inconvenience to your life... why would they change that? "I'm getting a new/updated home!"
triceratops 1y ago
> Maybe you could just…care? Florida voters firmly support their government denying the root cause of the problem. Maybe they could start caring.
ubermonkey 1y ago
Congratulations for rebutting, or attempting to, a number of points I was not making. I lived in Houston for 30+ years. I'm very familiar with the problem.