Tough Question in Climate Change: Who Gets Saved?

Governments preparing for climate change already assess which communities can be saved and which cannot. Christopher Flavelle compares Newtok and other remote communities in Alaska with Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana, all trying to escape rising waters. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development ran a National Disaster Resilience Competition intended to raise awareness about climate change and support communities in need. The competition rejected the Alaska proposals, but approved projects in 10 other states. Now, losers are questioning the rules and process. Such questions should have been posed earlier to politicians who resist limiting coal and other fossil fuels. “Figuring out who most deserves money to move will only get more contentious as more places raise their hand,” Flavelle writes, adding that soon the government will be making hard decisions about Texas, Miami and Boston. “If cutting emissions seems like a political nightmare, just wait.” – YaleGlobal