Making Other Arrangements
The exponential population growth in the United States of America and the energy demands put the nation in a dilemma. The increase in petroleum and gas consumption underscores a looming energy shortage in the future. As more people own cars and run industries, more focus should be on renewable energy for a sustainable future. The Americans’ dream of having a prosperous country can be achieved by leveraging renewable energy sources (Kunstler, 2021).
Since most of the household in the country depends on gas and petroleum for heating and transport, the non-renewable sources are likely to be depleted. The other positive alternative in energy generation must be renewable energy for a better future. Climate change challenges are experienced as a result of an increase in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere courtesy of gasoline and the burning of fossil fuels to meet the growing energy needs. Venturing into renewable energy is the key to a sustainable and affluent country.
Cities Are Our Best Hope for Surviving Climate Change
Cities are the world’s largest energy consumers, and two-thirds of the global population lives in cities. Since most activities leading to climate change are performed in cities, focusing sustainability efforts on the towns is an antidote to solving the problem of climate change. Urban planning to lower pollution and increase sustainability is the first step toward solving the issue of climate change. Approaching industries to decrease carbon effluents is likely to reduce the fear of global warming and improve sustainability in the cities. An example of the efforts is having over 250 cities in Europe become low-emission zones, and a 30% drop in greenhouse gas emissions was witnessed (Poon et al., 2021).
When urban centers are well organized, and enough trees are planted in strategic positions, the absorption of carbon emissions will be improved, and the climate will be protected. The cities are, therefore, the best target in the fight against pollution and climate change because most of it happens in urban areas.
Climate Is the Newest Gentrifying Force, and Its Effects Are Already Re-Shaping Cities
The incidence of Hurricane Irma in 2017 underscored the seriousness of climate change and gave a reason why climate change should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. Global warming increases temperatures, and glaciers melt. Consequently, a rise in water levels leads to hurricanes and towns such as Miami experience incidences leading to the loss of billions of dollars. The impacts of climate change have altered cities worldwide, and laws are implemented on buildings and construction to ensure that the houses built are strong enough to overcome climate change calamities such as hurricanes (Nathan, 2019). Climate gentrification is, therefore, a strong force in the city’s decision-making, and it has affected the history of societies and the way of doing things. Real estate building has changed, and buyers must consider the possibility of a hurricane before settling down. However, the climate gentrification force is settled with adequate policies for prosperity and sustainability.
Flood Risk and Residential Real-Estate Prices: Evidence from Three US Counties
Major flooding events in North Dakota, Colorado, and Oregon underscored the significance of climate change. As the vulnerability in a city increases, business transactions are affected due to the associated risk. The real estate transactions in the regions were affected by the flood possibility. Climate change has affected how people transact in real estate, and prices may be affected more as other cities become vulnerable. Climate change is a global concern that threatens people’s businesses and their love and must be handled with urgency. The changes in climate patterns make it important for people to understand pre-flood risk assessment and awareness to educate people on the value of property in flood-vulnerable areas (Miller & Pinter, 2022). Climate change significantly impacts residential building transactions, and universal climate change policies must be made to lower vulnerability for increased sales.
References
Miller, R. G., & Pinter, N. (2022). Flood risk and residential real‐estate prices: Evidence from three US counties. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 15(2). Web.
Kunstler, J.H. (2021) “Making Other Arrangements,” Orion Magazine. Web.
Nathan, A. (2019). Climate is the Newest Gentrifying Force, and its Effects are Already Re-Shaping Cities. Harvard Blog on Science Policy. Web.
Poon, L., Lombraña, L.M. and Dodge, S. (2021). “Cities are our best hope for surviving climate change.” Bloomberg. Web.