Climate Change Is Hitting the Insurance Industry Hard. Here’s How Swiss Re Is Adapting

A recent article in Fortune describes the measures that Swiss Re, the world's largest re-insurance company, are taking to adapt its business model to the realities of climate change and to divert its investments and insurance away from dirty, risky industries such as coal.

Traffic and Pollution Plummet as U.S. Cities Shut Down for Coronavirus

A recent New York Times article highlights how traffic congestion and air pollution levels have plummeted across the country's major metropolitan areas as cities shut down due to coronavirus-- an illustrative reminder of the impact of transportation on the environment. In the Bay Area, where 6.7 million residents were ordered to shelter-in-place last Monday, Bay Bridge traffic has decreased roughly 40 percent compared with two weeks ago.

The Coronavirus Is a Preview of Our Climate-Change Future

A recent article in New York Magazine highlights some of the future pandemics that climate change could potentially cause-- ones that, similarly to COVID-19, we are not well-prepared for. Diseases trapped in permafrost that humans have never been exposed to, for instance, could soon be released due to melting Arctic ice. Warming temperatures will cause the migration of insects carrying diseases such as malaria and Lyme disease to new populations.

Americans See Climate as a Concern, Even Amid Coronavirus Crisis

An article published today in the New York Times highlights the results of a new national survey, which shows that Americans' concerns about climate change have not been diminished by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On the contrary, the survey found that acceptance of the reality of climate change is at a record high in some cases. 

Santa Clara County Explores Expansion of Telecommuting Post-COVID 19

On May 5th, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to examine ways to continue to encourage telecommuting after the COVID-19 crisis ends, recognizing the benefits of improved air quality and reduced congestion that the Bay Area has experienced since shelter-in-place policies began and many employees began working from home.

Feds Seek Incentives to Encourage Driving - Employers Should Promote Tele-Commuting Instead

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in its latest guidelines for the re-opening of office buildings, has proposed that employers incentivize single-occupancy driving to reduce the spread of COVID-19-- a recommendation that flies in the face of both climate change policies and recent experiences in transit-rich cities around the world, which have kept infection rates low by promoting widespread mask use on trains and buses, even as transit ridership remains high. 

Rising Seas Threaten an American Institution: The 30-Year Mortgage

A recent article in the New York Times highlights the impact that climate change is having on American homeownership-- specifically, the risks of sea level rise and flooding are making banks warier of lending to homebuyers in vulnerable areas. Climate change risks have already begun to push down home prices in coastal areas and along rivers. Furthermore, banks are trying to get loans off of their books by selling to government-backed buyers like Fannie Mae, meaning that taxpayers would be on the hook if the loans were to fail.