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Month: June 2025

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Backyard Talk Homepage

Climate Injustice The Under Reported Injustice

 
Damage in Kentucky’s Sunshine Hills subdivision after tornado Saturday, May 17, 2025
Photo and Reporting Credit: Michael Clevenger, Courier Journal Via USA TODAY Network

By Sharon Franklin.

Amnesty International issued a report in April 2025 which addressed economic and climate injustice and the inter-connectiveness of the growing impact of severe weather events. Additionally, according to another report by First Street. Climate, the Sixth “C” of Credit , it is expected to increase home foreclosures.  The report was released following the latest tornadoes that swept through Missouri and Kentucky, leaving at least 25 people dead and scores injured.  Uninsured damage from flooding, as well as the depreciation of home values and rising insurance premiums from increasingly destructive climate disasters is still being calculated.  These climate events could lead to as much as $1.2 billion in credit losses in 2025, and estimates that mortgages on about 19,000 properties could be repossessed or foreclosed due to climate risk.

Key Points of the Climate, the Sixth “C” of Credit Report:

  • Climate Driven Credit Losses Could Cost Banks Billions.
  • Insurance Industry Bearing and Shifting Burden.
  • Flood Risk Highlights Systemic Fragility.
  • Household Absorbing Increased Climate Risk.  
  • Floods Are the Leading Driver of Foreclosure Among Perils.
  • Wind and Wildfire Damages are Insured, but Rising Premiums Drive Indirect Foreclosure Risk.   
  • Macroeconomic Conditions Compound Climate Pressures. 
  • Historical Climate Impacts Have Resulted in Hidden Credit Losses. 
  • Escalating Flood Risks and Climate Drive Macroeconomic Changes Drive Future Foreclosures. 

As many of Americans already know the insurance industry is gradually shifting the costs of climate disasters onto homeowners, causing the financial stability of borrowers and the performance of their mortgages to be increasingly at risk.  In the most severe cases, this escalating burden can ultimately lead to foreclosure.

 
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Leandro Lozada

Why It Matters?  Studies have concluded that global warming and extreme natural disasters has immediate consequences on housing when it comes to home insurance and rebuilding destroyed properties.

What To Know   If 2025 turn out to be a particularly natural disaster year. Lenders could lose up to $1.2 billion this year.  It is estimated that Florida, Louisiana, and California alone are projected to account for 53 percent of all climate-related mortgage losses in 2025.  The main culprit would likely be flooding, and according to the report, foreclosures spike 40 percent among damaged homes following flood events.  Dr. Jeremy Porter, Head of Climate Implications Research, First Street Foundation stated “Flooding leads to higher foreclosure rates because many properties are uninsured, especially those outside FEMA’s [the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s] Special Flood Hazard Areas”.

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Toxic Tuesdays

Beryllium

Toxic Tuesdays

CHEJ highlights several toxic chemicals and the communities fighting to keep their citizens safe from harm.

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Beryllium

Beryllium is a metal element found in rocks, soil, and coal. It is light and strong, making it useful in the fields of electronics, particle physics, aerospace, medicine, and dentistry. One form of beryllium, called beryl, is commonly known as the gemstones emerald and aquamarine. Beryllium is mined all over the world, including in the United States, for use in these industries.

Because beryllium is a chemical element, it does not break down in the environment. If released from rocks or soil, it can enter bodies of water where it can settle in sediment and can contaminate groundwater. It can also be carried by dust or rain, so it can travel long distances from its original source. This movement of beryllium in the environment can occur naturally through erosion as well as through human mining activity.

People can become exposed to beryllium if they live near facilities that mine it, use it for industrial purposes, or dispose of waste from these industries. They can be exposed through inhaling contaminated air, drinking contaminated water, or eating vegetables grown in contaminated soil. Beryllium is also present in cigarettes, so people who smoke can also be exposed. People who work in facilities that use beryllium are the most likely to be exposed to it. Inhaling air contaminated with beryllium can cause minor symptoms shortness of breath as well as irritation of the nose, throat, and lungs. It can also cause much more serious symptoms like lung damage. The US Department of Health and Human Services and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have both determined that beryllium can cause cancer in humans. Occupational exposure to beryllium has been linked to lung cancer. Groundwater near some Superfund sites that contain beryllium is known to be contaminated, demonstrating that the threat to human health from beryllium is a real concern even though it is used only in specialized settings.

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Pyrethrins

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