Category: Money
In Atlas of Disaster, No One is Safe
According to the Atlas of Disaster, 90% of U.S. counties have had an extreme weather event in the last ten years, and California had more disasters than any other state between 2011 and 2021. The report also offers a cost-effective path forward.
San Francisco’s Subtle Greenwashing
San Francisco is increasingly seen as a “green” city but its track record doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Two Towns Shortlisted for FEMA Millions
Grimes and Belvedere were the only two northern California towns that FEMA shortlisted this year for flood prevention funding. But flood protection is often more easily planned than done.

All Stories
Storm Surge Resilience Jigsaw Confounds New York
An Army Corps storm surge and flood plan for the New-York-New Jersey waterfront, now going through a public comment period, could be the most far-reaching coastal resilience project the region has seen thus far. The preferred alternative, however, is leaving advocates and community groups questioning if all the pieces will ever fit together.
In Atlas of Disaster, No One is Safe
According to the Atlas of Disaster, 90% of U.S. counties have had an extreme weather event in the last ten years, and California had more disasters than any other state between 2011 and 2021. The report also offers a cost-effective path forward.
San Francisco’s Subtle Greenwashing
San Francisco is increasingly seen as a “green” city but its track record doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Two Towns Shortlisted for FEMA Millions
Grimes and Belvedere were the only two northern California towns that FEMA shortlisted this year for flood prevention funding. But flood protection is often more easily planned than done.
Overhauling Insurance for the New Normal
In the era of global warming, an invisible force, as primal as atmospheric chemistry, is coming to bear on human pocketbooks. Even if you don’t believe in climate change, insurance companies do.
Pricing Climate Risk
To get the basics of pricing the risks of climate change, you could do worse than to talk to Dag Lohmann. He knows just how much creeping climate change is changing insurance arithmetic.
New Jersey Shells Out for Retreat
New Jersey’s Blue Acres program buys homes in flood-prone areas and converts them to open space. This not only moves frontline residents out of danger, but also protects neighbors.
Clean Energy, Dirty Practices
A program conceived to help homeowners invest in clean, energy-efficient home upgrades may actually be precipitating some low-income Californians’ collapse into debt and foreclosure.
Big Plans for Big Problems
October brought more than just a very welcome rainstorm to parched and fire-scarred California—it also saw big advances for three major efforts to help the state and the Bay Area plan for a climate-altered future.
Budget Bounty for Resilience
On September 23, as part of a historic $15 billion climate package, Governor Newsom signed two bills that together provide the blueprint for a landmark three-year, $3.7 billion climate resilience budget. The money represents a heretofore unthinkable commitment to addressing the impact of climate change on the state.
Grants Underwrite Fire Resistance
Looking to get out ahead of what is quickly shaping up to be a long and brutal wildfire season, the State Coastal Conservancy wasted no time distributing $12 million in fire prevention money it received as part of the $536 million in wildfire resilience funds Governor Newsom announced in April. Following a lightning speed grant process that featured a two-week request for proposals period, 17 Bay Area governments, tribes, fire districts, parks, and other agencies are set to receive more than $6 million—to be spent before the official start of the 2021 fire season.
