Climate: Coastal flooding USA Flashcards
Environment
Where is the area located? How does this impact the risk posed by climate change?
Coastal flooding is one of the problems the United States faces. The excepted sea level rise is higher than the global sea level rise in certain parts of the USA. This is because due to its location certain parts are low lying. There will also be larger precipitation events which could be rainfall or snowfall. The intensity and frequency is due to increase in the Northeast and the Midwest. Heat waves have become more frequent in the US since the 1960s as annual average temperatures continue to rise. There have been an increasing number of droughts which are associated with heat waves.
Economics
How does the economic stability of the area make the place more or less resilient to climate change?
The USA is one of the most economically developed countries in the world. This means it is able to spend a lot of money in prevention and in rebuilding the damaged areas after the disaster. Also, they can educate people and advise them to evacuate. People have a higher GDP and therefore can afford to move and or rebuild their houses, unlike LICs such as Bangladesh.
Social
How do the social differences impact a persons vulnerability to climate change? Think about age, gender, race, education etc).
Older people are more vulnerable to the effects of temperature extremes and have a significantly higher mortality risk in extreme weather events. The older population is also at greater risk because of increased susceptibility to disease.
Children who were affected by Katrina were followed for years after with mental issues and we see increased rates of certain mental health symptoms in them
Politics
How does the political stability or persuasion make an area more vulnerable or resilient to climate change?
President Trump had an interview with Piers Morgan about climate change, and blamed other countries, naming China, Russia and India for worsening the air and water quality, while claiming the US has one of the “cleanest climates there are”.
President trump also has called climate change a “hoax”
In 2017, he pulled the US out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement, saying the international deal to keep global temperatures rises below 2C was disadvantageous to US workers.
President Trump has continued to ignore warnings from his own government agencies, dismissing a 2018 report warning of devastating economic consequences from climate change, saying he did not believe it.
His administration has rolled back dozens of environmental and climate protections and proposed ending rules on oil drilling and coal plants.
Perception
What is the level of risk and vulnerability?
The risk and vulnerability is relatively low in the USA as it is a developed country and therefore can afford good precautions and prevention as well as being able to educate the people. There are some more vulnerable areas such as the san-Andrea’s fault for earthquakes and florida for hurricanes.
