Climate Change Is Bankrupting America’s Small Towns

A recent article in the New York Times highlights the financial crises that small towns, particularly in low-income areas, are experiencing in the face of climate shocks. Without the financial ability to rebuild and recover from natural disasters, communities enter into a downward spiral of shrinking populations and declining revenues; furthermore, those who stay in damaged communities find themselves unable to sell their homes at a price that would enable them to relocate somewhere safer. These problems are exacerbated by slow-moving and sometimes conflicting relocation and adaptation efforts by federal government agencies.

"Rather than bouncing back, places hit repeatedly by hurricanes, floods and wildfires are unraveling: residents and employers leave, the tax base shrinks and it becomes even harder to fund basic services," according to the article.

"Climate Change Is Bankrupting America’s Small Towns", New York Times