The island of Hawaii would be basically 3rd world without fossil fuels. How would anyone get there without fossil fueled flights? No one is going to take a 2,000+ mile trip on a sailboat to go somewhere with no energy, no modern buildings, no transportation. And where does most of the food come from? Products and goods? Fossil fueled ships and planes. Are they willing to give that all up?
Hawai?i lawmakers call for Big Oil to pay for rising insurance costs
The catastrophic Maui wildfires of 2023 made it clear: Hawai?i is on the front lines of the climate crisis. Now its residents are feeling some of the economic consequences, including massive spikes in the price of home and property insurance — with peoples’ bills going up by as much as 1,000%.
Why should Hawai?i residents be forced to shoulder these costs alone? Big Oil knew decades ago its products would worsen these kinds of extreme weather disasters, but lied to the public.
Yeah, a 300 page report about the fire stated
The fire was initially blamed on the combination of high winds and dry weather. However, the investigation found that the widespread destruction was caused by a single fire that started by the “undetected re-energization of broken utility lines, which caused sparks that ignited unmaintained vegetation,” Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura said during a press conference Wednesday.
So, not ‘climate change’
Last week Hawai?i took an important step toward climate accountability, becoming the first state in the nation to endorse the idea that the fossil fuel industry bears financial responsibility for the rising cost of home insurance in the state. A joint resolution passed by the state House and Senate calls on the state’s insurance providers to limit rate increases on Hawai?i families by taking the fossil fuel industry to court for damages from climate disasters.
But, weirdly, the resolution doesn’t recommend that the state stops using fossil fuels. That they demolish the airports. No planes or helicopters. No fossil fuels for all those boats. Or the vehicles taking tourists around. Nor did the elected lawmakers pledge to end their own use of fossil fuels. Of course, they couldn’t bring in EVs, because that would require fossil fueled transport ships.
With constituents struggling under relentlessly rising housing costs, state lawmakers are starting to respond. Hawai?i’s resolution comes after a similar bill requiring insurers to seek damages from the fossil fuel industry passed the state Senate. California legislators are also considering legislation that would allow insurers and climate disaster victims to recover their losses during climate disasters from fossil fuel companies.
Funny how it’s California and Hawaii with rising rebuilding costs, but, not having that trouble in Western NC. It’s almost like hardcore Leftists enact policies that are bad for building homes. You know how many have been rebuilt in Maui?
A year and a half since fires devastated the historic town of Lahaina on the island of Maui, Hawaii, only six houses have been rebuilt—six out of more than 2,000.
Why is the recovery effort taking so long? Initially, the biggest hurdles were the pace of debris removal and damage litigation. Both were overcome only last month. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared the final lots on February 19, while the Hawaiian Supreme Court ruled that a $4 billion settlement for victims can begin to move forward.
Think on that. Certainly, easier to do in Western NC than Maui, but, 6.
#1 South Carolina, #2 Iowa, #3 Texas – – Red States lead the way in housing affordability (NY, CA, RI, MA, CN in last place) – RePost
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2025/04/1-south-carolina-2-iowa-3-texas-red.html
The burning of fossil fuels built the modern world!! It’s true! Heating, cooling, transportation, materials, medicines too!
Most reasonable people would agree. But for all the BENEFITS we can’t ignore the DAMAGES. And the social costs of the damages.
In capitalist economies every buyer-seller transaction has the potential for positive and negative effects. Cigarettes give pleasure and energy but also cause cancer and lung problesm.
Alcohol gives pleasure but also contributes to liver disease, cancer and vehicle deaths.
The negative effects of transactions are referred to as negative externalities and someone, usually not just the parties in the transactions, have to pay for the damgaes. Lung cancer treatment costs (and deaths) are paid by the victims, insurance and the government. The tobacco industry was forced to pay some of the costs.
Those that BENEFIT the most from fossil fuel burning do not want to be held responsible for any of the negative externalities associated with their use. Who can blame them? It’s expensive.
Mr Teach reduces the argument to: criticize fossil fuels or do without!! Of course that solves nothing. It’s like saying, If you don’t like carcinogens in your water, don’t drink! Don’t like particulates in your air, don’t breathe!
The answer is to come up with an equitable system for estimating the true costs (including the negatives) of burning fossil fuels, including insurance cost increases, uncovered damages, mitigation (sea walls, relocating buildings, “hardening structures”, treatment of disesases etc).