Some survivors of extreme weather events are channelling their experience and “starting to organise into a political force”, according to The Guardian.
With apocalyptic floods, wildfires and other events becoming more common, that force is growing and transforming devastation and heartache into action.
These survivors are calling for “improved disaster response and even action on the politically contentious issue of global heating”. The “shock” of extreme weather is bonding them in “an unusually bipartisan way”, with “politically diverse delegations” travelling to Washington to lobby politicians.
Some of them are surprised to find themselves in the role of activist. “I just didn’t care about politics,” said Kylie Nidever, whose childhood home in Hunt, Texas was one of the few in her neighbourhood to survive floods last year. “I never thought I’d be doing this.”
Their “common woes” have helped develop a “greater appreciation of the role of the climate crisis in disasters” among those “previously sceptical” about the connection. But the “political toxicity” around climate change – which Donald Trump has called a “hoax” and “bullshit” – means that the campaign groups have names that don’t include the term, such as Extreme Weather Survivors and Rebuild: the National Disaster Survivors Association.
Even if these survivors don’t have a “major impact” on these midterm elections, “many feel this will change as warping weather” raises home insurance rates and other costs, and “large chunks of the year” see “toxic wildfire smoke, flooding and heat”, added The Guardian.
And despite the resistance to their cause, “one of the most powerful discoveries is how quickly trauma can become power if the right support is there”, Amanda Rosa, from Extreme Weather Survivors, told the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. |
