TheVoiceOfJoyce The Fossil Fuel Industry has always claimed their use was cost effective. Not anymore, as Californians in the lower and middle classes are one step away from financial ruin. Allstate Insurance and State Farm are no longer insuring new properties in California. Electricity and water bills are skyrocketing. The answer, declare a state of emergency and Regulate utility companies and the Fossil Fuel Industry. Pay for innovation, not destruction of our environment!

Posted on by jaslvr

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/21/climate-crisis-cost-of-living-energy-water-california

Minerva Contreras can’t keep up with the bills.

Recently, after a series of extreme heatwaves in California forced her family to run the AC, her monthly electricity costs rose to about $500. Her water bill averages around $100, but because the water is contaminated with pesticides from nearby agricultural fields, her family spends an additional $140 each month to purchase jugs of drinking water. Her grocery bills have gone up as well, after a spate of winter storms disrupted harvests across the state.

Extreme temperatures recorded across northern hemisphere

Read more

“Practically, about one week’s paycheck goes toward rent, the next week’s toward the electrical bill, and the third week’s toward the gas and water bills and the remaining for everything else,” said Contreras, a farm worker who lives with her husband and two sons in small, agricultural town of Lamont. “We just can’t keep up.”

Here, in what is already one of the most expensive states in the US, the climate emergency is driving up the cost of living. Extreme weather, drought and drastic swings in temperature, all fueled by global heating, are affecting utility costs and insurance premiums, exacerbating housing shortages and causing food prices to go up.

These issues are echoed throughout the US and the globe, as relentless heat and smoke pollution from wildfires push communities across the southern US, Europe and Asia to their limits. The health and economic impacts of the spate of extreme weather will become clearer in the months to come.

But in California, the cost imposed by the disquieting recurrence of climate-related disasters that more and more countries are faced with have already become untenable for many. Nearly half of the state’s residents say they struggle to save money or pay for unexpected expenses, according to a recent poll by a consortium of local non-profits. Many families are just one fire or flood away from financial ruin.

“We don’t see a future here, and it’s a shame we can’t escape either,” Contreras said. “Where would we go?”

Leave a Reply