[GWSG] Muni questions; Geography of Risk; coastal coping; soil symbioses store C; lavishing the fossils

[Tilley, Al]

1. Some municipal bond underwriters are inquiring about borrowers’ plans for climate risk. Thanks to Dave Rogers for the story. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-05/how-serious-is-the-climate-change-risk-ask-a-banker



2. The Geography of Risk: Epic Storms, Rising Seas, and the Cost of America’s Coast  is two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Gilbert Gaul’s history of how the government—we—have come to bear the risk of coastal construction. He profiles a number of coastal cities, including Tampa in Chapter 13, with attention to their risk planning. The highest point in downtown Tampa is five feet above sea level; a major hurricane approaching from the Gulf could bring a 45 foot storm surge.



3. Federal flood insurance has promoted building in at-risk areas. Yale Climate Connections reviews some ways to cope (including retreat strategies) and not to cope (rebuilding in flood plains).  https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/11/with-sea-levels-rising-these-strategies-could-help-coastal-communities-prepare/?utm_source=Weekly+News+from+Yale+Climate+Connections&utm_campaign=3823471f1a-Weekly_Digest_of_November_4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e007cd04ee-3823471f1a-59270721



4. Soil with vigorous plant-fungus symbioses, mycorrhiza, stores over ten times as much carbon as soil with symbioses weakened by agriculture. We can strengthen mycorrhiza by restoring native vegetation. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-fungi-climate.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter



5. According to the IMF, the US spent more to subsidize fossil fuels in 2015 (and probably today) than we did on the military. Too, much of our military spending is an indirect subsidy—without oil we would have less interest in the Mideast, for example. The fossil fuel industry claims that our economy depends on them. Ho ho. We would be far better off without them, and need to be so as soon as we can manage it. If we dropped the subsidies and had to pay the full cost openly, we would stop supporting them pretty quickly.  https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/fossil-fuel-subsidies-pentagon-spending-imf-report-833035/

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