#storms #hurricanes #ClimateChange #Helene #Milton
If you still don’t believe the climate is changing, look at the quantity and severity of the 2024 storms.
First, Helene. Second, Milton a week or so afterward.
In fact, Milton had grown to a Category 5 hurricane (the worst) before it hit land.
Florida got the double whammy of both storms consecutively, as debris from Helene had yet to be cleared before Milton hit.
Some folks on Florida’s Gulf Coast had gone nearly 50 years before being affected by storms. Then, they got a double hit.
Though the damage is not as bad as predicted it could have been, it will probably take years for places like Florida and Western North Carolina to fully recover from the destruction.
Climate change is happening worldwide. In fact, many migrants are coming to the U.S. because the climate in their countries has become so severe they cannot make a living as farmers etc.
Western North Carolina, shielded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, has learned that it is not immune from storm devastation.
All this means that sea levels will eventually rise, perhaps rendering expensive beachfront properties nearly worthless.
Will property insurers give up insuring properties in some areas? In some cases, they already have. Though most people devastated by storms say they will rebuild, how long with the rebuilding take, and how long will it last before the next storm comes along?
All hands, and minds, need to be on deck to try to mitigate this change as best we can.
It will be no easy task. Property near water has become the most desirable, yet the most vulnerable.
If we do nothing, it will only get worse. So, we have to do something. We have to try new ways to protect people and property from these frequent severe storms. Mitigation ideas and potential solutions are already out there, but the will to enact them is still missing.
Perhaps a new building material will be widely available to withstand these storms.
Perhaps we should not build so close to water that even the smallest storm-generated waves could do real damage.
Certainly, it will take money for this mitigation. But, money alone won’t solve the problem. The money has to be combined with innovation, keeping in mind that all the manmade innovation in the world cannot always defeat Mother Nature.
The other issue is time. We can’t wait years for the innovation, or the will to enact it, to come. It has to come ASAP.
So, as we continue to brace for more severe storms, we have to first recognize the problem. Denying a problem won’t make it go away.
Then, we have to put the best scientists, unrestricted by political or financial constraints, to work finding solutions.
The storms will always come. How we prepare for them, and recover from them, will be the key to the planet’s survival as we know it.
Peter
#housing #AffordableHousing #ExpensiveHousing #RecyclingProperty
It seems in many places, particularly fast-growing areas, they can’t build enough housing.
We are seeing apartments, or condos, being built next to big shopping areas, usually in commercially zoned areas and not for residences. If shopping traffic weren’t enough, residents now have to navigate streets around supermarkets and other retail outlets.
These apartments or condos are convenient, since residents can walk to the store(s), restaurants etc. But, would you want your outside balcony overlooking streets clogged with shopping traffic? Do you want to breathe that smoggy air every nice, summer night?
If you have to travel to work, how long will it take you to get out of these clogged streets, or back in when you come home? In short, say, a five-mile commute could take you 45 minutes or an hour, because of traffic.
In another housing area, cities are constructing housing units from old shipping containers. Yes, these are small, cramped units, but if they can keep people from living on the street, who cares?
The key to housing is affordability. Million-dollar homes are being built in places that were designed for the working-class buyer.
Can that be sustained in the long term?
Developers are working on building more affordable houses, apartments and condos. But, with the ever-increasing cost of materials, there is only so low their prices can go.
As more people are working from home, many downtown office buildings are seeing vacancies on a large scale.
New office space is attractive to expanding businesses, so these businesses will leave older office space in favor of new.
Some cities are looking at converting these old office buildings into affordable apartments, but that may be easier said than done.
Will the owners of that old office space accept lower rent for an apartment, vs. an office? Yes, occupancy is almost always better than vacancy, but can these office developers sustain their property values if these buildings suddenly become residences? The financial performance of these office developers, and their investors, could be greatly affected.
Can, and will, governments subsidize these office-to-apartment conversions over the long haul?
Will the occupants of these units require the kind of property management the offices did?
All these questions tell us of a housing market in flux. Rents, selling prices and other housing costs have gone through the roof. Many people elect to live on the street because they cannot afford rent.
Young, growing families are forgoing, or postponing, buying starter homes because they cannot afford the steep prices. Plus, they face competition from investors with wads of cash to buy houses outright, with no mortgage.
Housing is a finite commodity. There is only so much land, and only so many builders out there.
Innovators are working diligently to come up with ways to recycle properties no longer being used as originally intended.
Let’s hope all concerned can create an equilibrium in the housing market fairly soon.
Peter
