Insurance industry leaders went before Congress on Friday to ask for increased federal support for the costs of destructive global warming. Here are some quotes posted by Insurance Networking News:
“From our industry’s perspective, the footprints of climate change are around us and the trend of increasing damage to property and threat to lives is clear,” said Franklin Nutter, president of the Reinsurance Association of America.
Cynthia McHale, the insurance program director at Ceres, issued a more unequivocal statement:
“Our climate is changing, human activity is helping to drive the change, and the costs of these extreme weather events are going to keep ballooning unless we break through our political paralysis, and bring down emissions that are warming our planet. If we continue on this path, extreme weather is certain to cause more homes and businesses to be uninsurable in the private insurance market, leaving the costs to taxpayers or individuals.”
Look Republicans! This is coming from job creators!
Surely you believe THEM when they say global warming is real, and that "human activity is helping to drive the change," right?
And considering that the insurance companies are also saying that if this continues the industry may be unable to sustain itself, and that people may be left to pay for damage to their property all on their own, isn't this potentially a threat to our capitalist ideals as well?
Nah, you're right. If you just ignore it, it will just go away.
After all, it's worked so far. Right?
It will be interesting to see how the right casts the insurance industry as the "lunatic fringe"...........
ReplyDeleteNot only this, but the US Military also believes in the climate change truths. They're witnessing it and they're trying to be better prepared. Instead of making the world a better place, the RWNJs would rather focus on denying contraceptives! Che rompi coglioni!!!
ReplyDelete--Melanmoney
I like those deniers explain to me how polluting our environment is good for us .It seems to be the biggest polluters are the biggest deniers.
ReplyDeleteOh look now....a Market driven decision!
ReplyDeleteMaybe now, certain non-believers will see the light.
Wow, this is such a weird coincidence of a post. I recently read a book about climate change that was published in 2001, and it extensively covered a large Swiss insurance company that was doing investigations to find out why their weather-related claims were going through the roof. They concluded it was because of climate change. As I was reading this, I basically had the same thought as the title of this post. We know the deniers worship at the alter of corporations, so maybe this will get through to them.
ReplyDeleteMy son in law is from Switzerland - and he remarked about the rapid retreat of the glaciers, there. He is astonished at the American Right Wing hate against America, and disillusioned about the disappearance of American world leadership. He and my daughter are teaching at the University of Quebec now, so live in Canada - I have no doubt at some point they will end up in Europe or Switzerland where the Right Wing doesn't yet have a strangle-hold on government. They're there, but haven't choked the life out of democracy there, yet.
DeleteAnd, of course, they believe in the value of education for all as the antidote to another Hitler - and he is appalled at how education is devalued here in the US. Who would want to bring up children here if they had an option! He doesn't understand how a whole country would accept illiteracy and ignorance as national and political goals for its people.
I understand how he feels because I myself can't believe anyone could possibly hope to achieve the "dream" of an uneducated America - behind the rest of the world, that the level of stupid in this country is the new measure of "success" for America!
That Obama, he's even gotten to the insurance companies!!!
ReplyDelete:)
These are the arguments I use when confronting Denialers (my new word) - If climate change is not happening then why has the Pentagon listed climate change as one of the top threats to our national security? If climate change isn't happening then why have the insurance companies changed their premiums and policies regarding storm and flood insurance? and finally, Why is it wrong to institute conservation policies and renewable technologies if it reduces our dependence upon foreign oil, saves the country money, and reduces medical expenses relative to air and water quality?
ReplyDeleteI've yet to receive a satisfactory response to these questions when posed to Denialers.
Here's another thought relative to public health, insurance companies and industry.
ReplyDeleteLook at the nuclear industry in this country. The GOP likes to say that there hasn't been any significant nuclear facilities built in this country in the last 30 years because of "environmentalists" obstructing this industry. But if you look at the insurance companies, they've determined that nuclear energy is so uncertain, unstable that they are refusing to cover the reactors, or the cost is in the billions to cover. (Especially now after the Fukishima disaster) THAT is what is the keeping nuclear energy industry from growing!
Reason and logic does not work with those cretins. They just say that the climate change is a natural phenomenon, and that it has been happening all during history. There is no such thing as human cause of the change.
ReplyDelete(Besides, they are now saying that the 'Libs' used to call it Global Warming, and then they point to the fact that our winters are getting colder (but not the fact that our summers are getting hotter...), and because of that, the 'Libs' had to change the term to climate change in order to 'prove' their point. So, they say it is simply a matter of semantics... :/)
Climate change is so far above their 6th grade home-schooling education. Sad, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt we're experiencing global warming. And the GOP wants to deregulate, eliminate the EPA and deny it's even happening.
ReplyDeleteThis winter was the warmest in 46 years on the east coast, we never got a hard frost, and the insects, especially mosquitoes and flies, are already swarming and laying eggs, and Allergies are expected to explode.