This week I am going to start with an article that reenforces the crisis that climate change is foisting on real estate. More and more states are requiring flood disclosures. This is obviously depressing values and making it harder to sell one’s home. Some time ago I presented you with an article about how home sellers in Florida who were well above the flood zone posting on their for sale signs the elevation of their property above sea level. This helped them get the full value from the sale of their home but depressed the value of those at lower elevations.
Well, here’s another factor impacting the value of peoples’ homes.
From E&E News
Texas Sees Home Prices Drop After Forcing Sellers to Disclose Flood Risk
Fannie Mae found that property values decreased by $15,000 in areas with a moderate flood risk.
2/26/2024
A Texas law that notifies homebuyers of flood risk has significantly decreased property prices, according to a new federal study that comes as many states adopt or consider similar flood disclosure requirements.
McClain’s analysis of 2.2 million sales found that prices for homes in moderate-risk zones “fell 4.2 percent compared to properties outside of flood zones.”
Sorry to depress you today but, we’re in deep trouble. As I have been trying to alert you for many, many years climate change is happening much faster than you’ve been led to believe and the consequences are not just beginning to impact but creating serious consequences. Here are a series of recent articles that drive this point home.
From Worth
The Focus Shifts to Coping with Climate Change
Feb 9, 2024
ICYMI: We just officially hit the global temperature threshold that climate scientists have been warning that we absolutely should not—if we want to maintain a healthy planet. The world has had its first year-long breach of the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature rise that countries had agreed at the 2015 “COP” conference in Paris not to exceed.
Scientists, economists, politicians, and more still have to focus efforts on cutting carbon dioxide and its much-underestimated sibling, methane. That can help an already bad situation from getting nightmarish. But there’s no doubt now that adapting to a changing planet is a top challenge for humanity.
From NBC News
Climate Change is Throwing the Water Cycle into Chaos Across the U.S.
By Denise Chow and Evan Bush
Feb. 25, 2024
The water cycle that shuttles Earth’s most vital resource around in an unending, life-giving loop is in trouble. Climate change has disrupted that cycle’s delicate balance, upsetting how water circulates between the ground, oceans and atmosphere.
The events of 2023 show how significant these disruptions have become. From extreme precipitation and flooding to drought and contaminated water supplies, almost every part of the U.S. faced some consequence of climate change and the shifting availability of water.
The water cycle controls every aspect of Earth’s climate system, which means that as the climate changes, so too does nearly every step of water’s movement on the planet. In some places, the availability of water is becoming increasingly scarce, while in others, climate change is intensifying rainfall, floods and other extreme weather events.
As the planet continues to warm, this cycle is expected to be increasingly stretched, warped and broken.
For every degree of warming in Fahrenheit, the atmosphere can hold about 3%-4% more moisture. Global temperatures in 2023 were 2.43 degrees higher than they were in preindustrial times, meaning today’s storms can deliver a stronger punch.
From E&E News
New UN Weather Agency Chief Says Rate of Global Warming is Speeding Up
BY: ASSOCIATED PRESS | 02/09/2024
Slow efforts to curb climate change “is not about diplomacy, I think it’s about power and economy,” Saulo said during a break at the American Meteorological Society’s meeting in Baltimore. “We are lagging behind our objectives because of our interests — economic interests — that are well beyond what our common sense, our diplomats and our scientists are pointing out.”
Saulo, who had been the head of Argentina’s meteorological office, said what worries her most is what is happening at both poles as seas warm, ice melts and society adds more heat-trapping gases.
“Heat waves are the most killing of extreme events,” Saulo said, adding that the number of deaths are usually undercounted. Plus, heat waves have other side impacts on health, fires and air quality, she said.
I try to end with some good news. So take a look at these two items.
From E&E News
Solar Tops 50% of New US Power Generation for First Time
Solar energy accounted for more than half of new U.S. electric generating capacity for the first time ever in 2023, according to an industry report released Wednesday.
“We must protect and optimize the policies that are driving these investments and creating jobs, and the stakes in the upcoming election couldn’t be higher,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, the CEO of SEIA, in a statement.
From Bloomberg Open 12/6/23
Ready for take off. Air New Zealand ordered an electric plane from an Amazon-backed startup to use for short cargo flights in 2026, paving the way for larger, next-generation aircraft on normal domestic services from 2030.
A render of the ALIA aircraft in the carrier’s livery. Air New Zealand
