<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en" dir="ltr">

<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
  <title>Hurricane Harvey Reminds Us the South Will Bear the Brunt of Climate Change in the U.S. | Demos</title>
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta property="og:title" content="Hurricane Harvey Reminds Us the South Will Bear the Brunt of Climate Change in the U.S." />
<meta property="og:description" content="Climate change will disrupt the lives of millions in the South, and will leave communities that have been historically marginalized more vulnerable to disaster, particularly people of color." />
<meta property="og:image" content="http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/blog/spencer-pugh-192562.jpg" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<meta property="og:url" content="http://www.demos.org/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Demos" />
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='/sites/default/files/addthis/addthis_widget.js#async=1'></script>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/sites/default/files/demos_zen_favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />
<meta property="og:type" content="Article" /><meta property="og:title" content="Hurricane Harvey Reminds Us the South Will Bear the Brunt of Climate Change in the U.S."/><meta property="og:url" content="http://www.demos.org/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us"/><meta property="og:image" content="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/logo.png"/><meta property="fb:admins" content="443404479084843">
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://use.typekit.com/scd5unt.js"></script>
<meta name="description" content="Climate change means that the extreme weather events we are witnessing, like Hurricane Harvey and the heatwave currently sweeping southern California, will be more common and more intense." />
  
<style type="text/css" media="all">
  @import "/modules/aggregator/aggregator.css?Z";
  @import "/modules/node/node.css?Z";
  @import "/modules/system/defaults.css?Z";
  @import "/modules/system/system.css?Z";
  @import "/modules/system/system-menus.css?Z";
  @import "/modules/user/user.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/calendar/calendar_multiday/calendar_multiday.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/cck/theme/content-module.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/ctools/css/ctools.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/date/date.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/date/date_popup/themes/datepicker.1.7.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/date/date_popup/themes/jquery.timeentry.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/filefield/filefield.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/lightbox2/css/lightbox.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/logintoboggan/logintoboggan.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/nice_menus.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/nice_menus_default.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/panels/css/panels.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/sitedoc/sitedoc.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/thickbox/thickbox.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/thickbox/thickbox_ie.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/contrib/views_slideshow_singleframe/views_slideshow.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/extlink/extlink.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/cck/modules/fieldgroup/fieldgroup.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/views/css/views.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/custom_pagers/custom_pagers.css?Z";
</style>
<style type="text/css" media="all">
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/tablefield/tablefield.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/modules/contrib/custom_search/custom_search.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/html-reset.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/wireframes.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/layout-fixed.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/page-backgrounds.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/tabs.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/messages.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/pages.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/block-editing.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/blocks.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/navigation.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/panels-styles.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/views-styles.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/nodes.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/comments.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/forms.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/fields.css?Z";
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/echoditto.css?Z";
</style>
<style type="text/css" media="print">
  @import "/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/print.css?Z";
</style>

<!--[if IE]>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/ie.css?Z" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if lte IE 6]>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/ie6.css?Z" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 8]>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/ie8.css?Z" />
<![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]>
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/css/ie7.css?Z" />
<![endif]-->
  <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/jquery_update/replace/jquery.min.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/misc/drupal.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/google_analytics/googleanalytics.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/lightbox2/js/lightbox.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/superfish/js/superfish.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/superfish/js/jquery.bgiframe.min.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/superfish/js/jquery.hoverIntent.minified.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/nice_menus.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/panels/js/panels.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/thickbox/thickbox.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/js/jquery.cycle.all.min.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/contrib/views_slideshow_singleframe/views_slideshow.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/custom/demos_popup/demos_popup.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/extlink/extlink.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/custom_search/custom_search.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/js/facebook_like.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/js/google_plus_one.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/custom/instapaper_custom/instapaper_custom.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/views/js/base.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/views/js/ajax_view.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/js/jquery.boxy.js?Z"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[//><!--
jQuery.extend(Drupal.settings, { "basePath": "/", "googleanalytics": { "trackOutgoing": 1, "trackMailto": 1, "trackDownload": 1, "trackDownloadExtensions": "7z|aac|arc|arj|asf|asx|avi|bin|csv|doc|exe|flv|gif|gz|gzip|hqx|jar|jpe?g|js|mp(2|3|4|e?g)|mov(ie)?|msi|msp|pdf|phps|png|ppt|qtm?|ra(m|r)?|sea|sit|tar|tgz|torrent|txt|wav|wma|wmv|wpd|xls|xml|z|zip" }, "lightbox2": { "rtl": 0, "file_path": "/(\\w\\w/)sites/default/files", "default_image": "/sites/all/modules/contrib/lightbox2/images/brokenimage.jpg", "border_size": 10, "font_color": "000", "box_color": "fff", "top_position": "", "overlay_opacity": "0.8", "overlay_color": "000", "disable_close_click": 1, "resize_sequence": 0, "resize_speed": 400, "fade_in_speed": 400, "slide_down_speed": 600, "use_alt_layout": 0, "disable_resize": 0, "disable_zoom": 0, "force_show_nav": 0, "show_caption": 0, "loop_items": 0, "node_link_text": "", "node_link_target": 0, "image_count": "Image !current of !total", "video_count": "Video !current of !total", "page_count": "Page !current of !total", "lite_press_x_close": "press \x3ca href=\"#\" onclick=\"hideLightbox(); return FALSE;\"\x3e\x3ckbd\x3ex\x3c/kbd\x3e\x3c/a\x3e to close", "download_link_text": "", "enable_login": false, "enable_contact": false, "keys_close": "c x 27", "keys_previous": "p 37", "keys_next": "n 39", "keys_zoom": "z", "keys_play_pause": "32", "display_image_size": "original", "image_node_sizes": "()", "trigger_lightbox_classes": "", "trigger_lightbox_group_classes": "", "trigger_slideshow_classes": "", "trigger_lightframe_classes": "", "trigger_lightframe_group_classes": "", "custom_class_handler": 0, "custom_trigger_classes": "", "disable_for_gallery_lists": true, "disable_for_acidfree_gallery_lists": true, "enable_acidfree_videos": true, "slideshow_interval": 5000, "slideshow_automatic_start": true, "slideshow_automatic_exit": true, "show_play_pause": true, "pause_on_next_click": false, "pause_on_previous_click": true, "loop_slides": false, "iframe_width": 600, "iframe_height": 400, "iframe_border": 1, "enable_video": 0 }, "nice_menus_options": { "delay": 800, "speed": 1 }, "thickbox": { "close": "Close", "next": "Next \x3e", "prev": "\x3c Prev", "esc_key": "or Esc Key", "next_close": "Next / Close on last", "image_count": "Image !current of !total" }, "extlink": { "extTarget": "_blank", "extClass": 0, "extSubdomains": 1, "extExclude": "(npo.networkforgood\\.org)|(org2.democracyinaction\\.org)", "extInclude": "", "extAlert": 0, "extAlertText": "This link will take you to an external web site. We are not responsible for their content.", "mailtoClass": 0 }, "custom_search": { "form_target": "_self", "solr": 0 }, "ws_fl": { "width": 48, "height": "21" }, "ws_gpo": { "type": "medium", "counter": false }, "addthis": { "config_default": { "services_toolbox": "print, email, facebook, twitter, share", "services_compact": "", "services_expanded": "", "ui_cobrand": "", "ui_header_color": "#000000", "ui_header_background": "#FFFFFF", "ui_click": 0, "ui_delay": "250", "ui_use_addressbook": 0, "data_track_clickback": 0, "username": "demoscomm@gmail.com", "data_ga_tracker": "pageTracker", "ui_use_css": false, "ui_language": "en" }, "share_default": { "templates": { "twitter": "" } } }, "views": { "ajax_path": [ "/views/ajax", "/views/ajax" ], "ajaxViews": [ { "view_name": "related_content", "view_display_id": "block_4", "view_args": "/12070", "view_path": "node/12070", "view_base_path": null, "view_dom_id": "related-content-block-4-1", "pager_element": 0 }, { "view_name": "related_content", "view_display_id": "block_9", "view_args": "12070", "view_path": "node/12070", "view_base_path": null, "view_dom_id": "related-content-block-9-1", "pager_element": 0 } ] }, "CToolsUrlIsAjaxTrusted": { "/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us": [ true, true ] }, "cssInit": { "aggregator.css": true, "node.css": true, "defaults.css": true, "system.css": true, "system-menus.css": true, "user.css": true, "calendar_multiday.css": true, "content-module.css": true, "ctools.css": true, "date.css": true, "datepicker.1.7.css": true, "jquery.timeentry.css": true, "filefield.css": true, "lightbox.css": true, "logintoboggan.css": true, "nice_menus.css": true, "nice_menus_default.css": true, "panels.css": true, "sitedoc.css": true, "thickbox.css": true, "thickbox_ie.css": true, "views_slideshow.css": true, "extlink.css": true, "fieldgroup.css": true, "views.css": true, "custom_pagers.css": true, "tablefield.css": true, "custom_search.css": true, "style.css": true, "html-reset.css": true, "wireframes.css": true, "layout-fixed.css": true, "page-backgrounds.css": true, "tabs.css": true, "messages.css": true, "pages.css": true, "block-editing.css": true, "blocks.css": true, "navigation.css": true, "panels-styles.css": true, "views-styles.css": true, "nodes.css": true, "comments.css": true, "forms.css": true, "fields.css": true, "echoditto.css": true }, "jsInit": { "misc/jquery.js": true, "misc/drupal.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/google_analytics/googleanalytics.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/lightbox2/js/lightbox.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/superfish/js/superfish.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/superfish/js/jquery.bgiframe.min.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/superfish/js/jquery.hoverIntent.minified.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/nice_menus/nice_menus.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/panels/js/panels.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/thickbox/thickbox.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/js/jquery.cycle.all.min.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/views_slideshow/contrib/views_slideshow_singleframe/views_slideshow.js": true, "sites/all/modules/custom/demos_popup/demos_popup.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/extlink/extlink.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/custom_search/custom_search.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/js/facebook_like.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/js/google_plus_one.js": true, "sites/all/modules/custom/instapaper_custom/instapaper_custom.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/views/js/base.js": true, "sites/all/modules/contrib/views/js/ajax_view.js": true, "sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/js/jquery.boxy.js": true } });
//--><!]]>
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[//><!--
addthis_config = Drupal.settings.addthis.config_default; addthis_share = Drupal.settings.addthis.share_default;
//--><!]]>
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[//><!--
try{Typekit.load();}catch(e){}
//--><!]]>
</script>
  <!--[if (gte IE 6)&(lte IE 8)]>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/js/selectivizr-min.js"></script>
  <![endif]--> 
</head>
<body class="page not-front not-logged-in node-type-blog page-blog-9-1-17-hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us section-blog one-sidebar sidebar-second">

      <div id="skip-link"><a href="#main-menu">Jump to Navigation</a></div>
  
  <div id="page-wrapper"><div id="page">

    <div id="header"><div class="section clearfix">

              <a href="/" title="Home" rel="home" id="logo"><img src="/sites/all/themes/custom/demos_zen/logo.png" alt="Home" /></a>
      
			<div id ="site-header-regions">
								<div class="region region-site-header-bottom">
    	<div id="block-search-0" class="block block-search first region-odd odd region-count-1 count-5">
	  	    <h2 class="title">Search</h2>
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <form action="/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us"  accept-charset="UTF-8" method="post" id="search-block-form" class="search-form">
<div><div class="container-inline">
  <div class="form-item" id="edit-search-block-form-1-wrapper">
 <input type="text" maxlength="128" name="search_block_form" id="edit-search-block-form-1" size="15" value="Search Demos" title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." class="form-text  custom-search-default-value custom-search-box" />
</div>
<fieldset class="custom_search-popup"></fieldset>
<input type="submit" name="op" id="edit-submit" value="Search"  class="form-submit" />
<input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" id="form-vih7QFPLuu8xv_7sV35V92FzQv9pwCcNCHnCQKQsh5M" value="form-vih7QFPLuu8xv_7sV35V92FzQv9pwCcNCHnCQKQsh5M"  />
<input type="hidden" name="form_id" id="edit-search-block-form" value="search_block_form"  />
<input type="hidden" name="default_text" id="edit-default-text" value="Search Demos"  class="default-text" />
</div>

</div></form>
	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
</div><!-- /.region -->
			</div>
			
              <div id="name-and-slogan">
                                    <div id="site-name"><strong>
                <a href="/" title="Home" rel="home"><span>Demos</span></a>
              </strong></div>
                      
                      <div id="site-slogan">An Equal Say and an Equal Chance for All</div>
                  </div><!-- /#name-and-slogan -->
      
    </div></div><!-- /.section, /#header -->
    
                <div id="navigation"><div class="section clearfix">
    
                  					<ul class="nice-menu nice-menu-down" id="nice-menu-0"><li class="menu-1261 menuparent menu-path-node-1 first  odd "><a href="/about-demos" title="About Demos">About</a><ul><li class="menu-3655 menu-path-node-1 first  odd "><a href="/about-demos" title="">About Demos</a></li>
<li class="menu-2970 menu-path-staff even "><a href="/staff">Staff</a></li>
<li class="menu-5117 menu-path-node-4073 odd "><a href="/board-trustees" title="Board of Trustees">Board of Trustees</a></li>
<li class="menu-5328 menu-path-node-235 even "><a href="/job-opportunities" title="">Job Opportunities</a></li>
<li class="menu-5690 menu-path-node-4242 odd "><a href="/support-demos" title="">Why Support Demos?</a></li>
<li class="menu-13465 menu-path-demosorg-contact even  last "><a href="http://www.demos.org/contact" title="">Contact</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="menu-2956 menuparent menu-path-issues even "><a href="/issues">Issues</a><ul><li class="menu-3990 menuparent menu-path-issues-331 first  odd "><a href="/issues/331" title="">Economy &amp; Opportunity</a><ul><li class="menu-4438 menu-path-issues-331-858 first  odd "><a href="/issues/331/858" title="">Jobs &amp; Income</a></li>
<li class="menu-4445 menu-path-issues-331-855 even "><a href="/issues/331/855">The Middle Class</a></li>
<li class="menu-4431 menu-path-issues-331-854 odd "><a href="/issues/331/854">Credit and Debt</a></li>
<li class="menu-4443 menu-path-issues-331-857 even "><a href="/issues/331/857">Retirement Security</a></li>
<li class="menu-4435 menu-path-issues-331-856 odd  last "><a href="/issues/331/856">Higher Education</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="menu-3989 menuparent menu-path-issues-851 even "><a href="/issues/851" title="">Democracy &amp; Elections</a><ul><li class="menu-4428 menu-path-issues-851-861 first  odd "><a href="/issues/851/861">Campaign Finance Reform</a></li>
<li class="menu-4448 menu-path-issues-851-859 even "><a href="/issues/851/859">Voting Rights &amp; Voter Registration</a></li>
<li class="menu-4441 menu-path-issues-851-860 odd "><a href="/issues/851/860">Redistricting &amp; Representation</a></li>
<li class="menu-4429 menu-path-issues-851-862 even  last "><a href="/issues/851/862">Civic Engagement</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="menu-3991 menuparent menu-path-issues-192 odd "><a href="/issues/192" title="">Government &amp; the Public Sector</a><ul><li class="menu-4432 menu-path-issues-192-868 first  odd "><a href="/issues/192/868">Financial Reform</a></li>
<li class="menu-4444 menu-path-issues-192-869 even "><a href="/issues/192/869">Revenue, Taxes and Budget</a></li>
<li class="menu-4442 menu-path-issues-192-867 odd  last "><a href="/issues/192/867">Regulation &amp; Oversight</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="menu-3993 menuparent menu-path-issues-193 even  last "><a href="/issues/193" title="">Sustainability &amp; Growth</a><ul><li class="menu-4430 menu-path-issues-193-872 first  odd "><a href="/issues/193/872">Consumerism &amp; Sustainable Economics</a></li>
<li class="menu-4439 menu-path-issues-193-871 even  last "><a href="/issues/193/871">New Measures of Progress</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="menu-1538 menuparent menu-path-publications odd "><a href="/publications">Publications</a><ul><li class="menu-3672 menu-path-publications first  odd "><a href="/publications?type=Report" title="">Reports</a></li>
<li class="menu-8099 menu-path-publications even "><a href="/publications?type=Explainer" title="">Explainer</a></li>
<li class="menu-3669 menu-path-publications odd "><a href="/publications?type=Policy%20Brief" title="">Policy Briefs</a></li>
<li class="menu-3671 menu-path-publications even "><a href="/publications?type=Litigation" title="">Litigation</a></li>
<li class="menu-1452 menu-path-books odd "><a href="/books">Books</a></li>
<li class="menu-3673 menu-path-publications even  last "><a href="/publications?type=Testimony" title="">Testimony</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="menu-2163 menu-path-experts even "><a href="/experts" title="">Experts</a></li>
<li class="menu-2164 menu-path-events odd "><a href="/events" title="">Events</a></li>
<li class="menu-1313 menuparent menu-path-media even "><a href="/media" title="">Newsroom</a><ul><li class="menu-1286 menu-path-press-releases first  odd "><a href="/press-releases">Press Releases</a></li>
<li class="menu-4143 menu-path-commentary even "><a href="/commentary">Commentary</a></li>
<li class="menu-1317 menu-path-news odd "><a href="/news" title="In the News">In the News</a></li>
<li class="menu-4396 menu-path-node-3998 even  last "><a href="/multimedia" title="Multimedia">Multimedia</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="menu-2165 menu-path-policyshop odd "><a href="/policyshop" title="">Blog</a></li>
<li class="menu-3455 menu-path-demosorg-give even  last "><a href="http://demos.org/give" title="Donate">Donate</a></li>
</ul>
              <?php// print $navigation; ?>
    
    </div></div><!-- /.section, /#navigation -->
    
    <div id="main-wrapper">
    <div id="main" class="clearfix with-navigation">

						  <div id="header_content_region" class="region">
			    <div class="region region-header-content-region">
    	<div id="block-block-18" class="block block-block first region-odd odd region-count-1 count-7">
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <p><a href="/policyshop"><img a="" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/imce/PolicyshopBanner.png" style="width: 960px; height: 170px;" /></a></p>
	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
</div><!-- /.region -->
			  </div>
          			
      <div id="content" class="column">

        <div class="page-title ">
          <h1 class="title ">Hurricane Harvey Reminds Us the South Will Bear the Brunt of Climate Change in the U.S.</h1>
        </div>
      
      <div class="section">

        
        
                
		        
                        
        
        <div id="content-area">
          <div id="node-12070" class="node node-type-blog build-mode-full clearfix">
  
  
        <div class="meta">
              <span class="submitted">
          Posted by <a href="/policy-shop/Algernon%20Austin%20and%20Adrien%20Salazar">Algernon Austin and Adrien Salazar</a> on September 1, 2017        </span>
      		<span class="sharetop">
			<div class="service-links"><div class="item-list"><ul><li class="first"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;width=48&amp;height=21&amp;font=&amp;locale=" title="I Like it" class="service-links-facebook-like" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Facebook Like</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us&amp;count=none&amp;via=Demos_Org&amp;text=Hurricane%20Harvey%20Reminds%20Us%20the%20South%20Will%20Bear%20the%20Brunt%20of%20Climate%20Change%20in%20the%20U.S.&amp;counturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us" class="twitter-share-button service-links-twitter-widget" title="Tweet This" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Tweet Widget</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.demos.org/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us" title="Plus it" class="service-links-google-plus-one" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Google Plus One</span></a></li>
<li class="last"><a href="http://www.instapaper.com/e2?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us&amp;title=Hurricane+Harvey+Reminds+Us+the+South+Will+Bear+the+Brunt+of+Climate+Change+in+the+U.S.&amp;description=" title="Read this later on Instapaper" class="service-links-instapaper" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Instapaper</span></a></li>
</ul></div></div>		</span>

          </div>
  
  <div class="content">
    <p>Climate change means that the extreme weather events we are witnessing, like Hurricane Harvey and the heatwave currently sweeping southern California, will be more common and more intense. The level of flooding that Harvey has caused in Houston has traditionally been expected once every 500 years, but in fact “500-year floods” have happened <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/28/16211392/100-500-year-flood-meaning">3 times</a> in Houston in the last 3 years. The <em>Washington Post</em> suggested that 2016 be called “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/2016-weather/?tid=graphics-story">the year of the flood</a>,” but Harvey alone has made 2017 the new “year of the flood.” The <em>Post</em> also noted that 2016 was an intense year for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/2016-weather/?tid=graphics-story">droughts and forest fires</a> around the country. The future promises more natural disasters worsened by climate change as a result of inaction by those in power who deny climate reality.</p>
<p>In June, the <em>New York Times</em> produced <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/29/climate/southern-states-worse-climate-effects.html?mcubz=3">an important map</a> showing the predicted economic impact of climate change on counties across the United States. The map shows that counties in the southern states, from North Carolina across to California and southward, would carry the greatest economic costs of climate change. Many of the counties in these states could lose 5 to 15 percent of GDP per year, with the poorest counties suffering some of the largest declines.</p>
<p>While revealing the geographic inequity of climate change impacts in the U.S., one important point that these reports failed to highlight is that climate change will disproportionately harm people of color. People of color are overrepresented in the southern states, in the poorest counties, and among outdoor workers.</p>
<p>Latinos comprise a large proportion in these communities. Many Latino workers work outdoors in occupations such as landscaping, farming, and construction. The <em>Times</em> noted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/us/politics/climate-change-trump-working-poor-activists.html">the toll that heat takes</a> on people who work outdoors in southern states. It reported on a worker who “vomited and convulsed after hours of mowing lawns in stifling heat.” Latinos are already <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2016/161013">three times as likely</a> as non-Latinos to die on the job from excessive heat. Climate change will put even more Latino workers at risk.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Hurricane Harvey, like its southern predecessors Rita and Katrina, already demonstrates that climate change will disrupt the lives of millions in the South, and will leave communities that have been historically marginalized <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/houstons-human-catastrophe-started-long-before-the-storm/">more vulnerable to disaster</a>. Harvey’s impacts are layered onto years of neglect of infrastructure, mapped onto racial lines, and exacerbated by the <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/how-texas-lawmakers-failed-plan-climate-change-harvey-floods-2583983">failure to plan</a> for climate adaptation.</p>
<p>Addressing climate change will require not only reducing carbon emissions, but also investing in infrastructure, particularly in the communities most vulnerable to its impacts. Resilience to climate change calls for transforming the energy economy as well as building resilient neighborhoods through re-investment in communities of color and poor communities.</p>
<div class="service-links"><div class="service-label">Bookmark/Search this post with </div><ul class="links"><li class="service-links-facebook-like first"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;width=48&amp;height=21&amp;font=&amp;locale=" title="I Like it" class="service-links-facebook-like" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Facebook Like</span></a></li>
<li class="service-links-twitter-widget"><a href="http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us&amp;count=none&amp;via=Demos_Org&amp;text=Hurricane%20Harvey%20Reminds%20Us%20the%20South%20Will%20Bear%20the%20Brunt%20of%20Climate%20Change%20in%20the%20U.S.&amp;counturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us" class="twitter-share-button service-links-twitter-widget" title="Tweet This" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Tweet Widget</span></a></li>
<li class="service-links-google-plus-one"><a href="http://www.demos.org/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us" title="Plus it" class="service-links-google-plus-one" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Google Plus One</span></a></li>
<li class="service-links-instapaper last"><a href="http://www.instapaper.com/e2?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.demos.org%2Fblog%2F9%2F1%2F17%2Fhurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us&amp;title=Hurricane+Harvey+Reminds+Us+the+South+Will+Bear+the+Brunt+of+Climate+Change+in+the+U.S.&amp;description=Climate+change+means+that+the+extreme+weather+events+we+are+witnessing%2C+like+Hurricane+Harvey+and+the+heatwave+currently+sweeping+southern+California%2C+will+be+more+common+and+more+intense.+The+level+of+flooding+that+Harvey+has+caused+in+Houston+has+traditionally+been+expected+once+every+500+years%2C+but+in+fact+%E2%80%9C500-year+floods%E2%80%9D+have+happened+3+times+in+Houston+in+the+last+3+years." title="Read this later on Instapaper" class="service-links-instapaper" rel="nofollow"><span style="display:none;">Instapaper</span></a></li>
</ul></div><div class="item-list">
<ul class="pager custom-pager-bottom">
<li class="previous"><a href="/blog/9/1/17/working-people-missouri-are-pushed-back%E2%80%A6but-press-forward" class="active">‹ Previous</a></li>
<li class="key"><a href="/policy-shop" class="active">Main</a></li>
<li class="next"><a href="/blog/8/30/17/years-after-katrina-black-poor-remains-high-risk" class="active">Next ›</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
  </div>

  <ul class="links inline"><li class="addthis first last"><span><div class='addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style ' addthis:url='http://www.demos.org/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us' addthis:title='Hurricane Harvey Reminds Us the South Will Bear the Brunt of Climate Change in the U.S.' ><a class='addthis_toolbox_item addthis_button_print'></a><a class='addthis_toolbox_item addthis_button_email'></a><a class='addthis_toolbox_item addthis_button_facebook'></a><a class='addthis_toolbox_item addthis_button_twitter'></a><a class='addthis_toolbox_item addthis_button_expanded' >Share</a></div></span></li>
</ul></div><!-- /.node -->
        </div>

				<div id="content-bottom-area">
	        <div class="region region-content-bottom">
    	<div id="block-facebook_comments_box-facebook_comments_box" class="block block-facebook_comments_box first region-odd odd region-count-1 count-13">
	  	    <h2 class="title">Comments</h2>
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <div class="facebook-comments-box"><div id="fb-root"></div><script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script><fb:comments href="http://www.demos.org/blog/9/1/17/hurricane-harvey-reminds-us-south-will-bear-brunt-climate-change-us"  num_posts="10"  width="550"  colorscheme="light" ></fb:comments></div>	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
</div><!-- /.region -->
									</div>
				
        				
				<div id="sharebottom">
					<?print $sharebottom; ?>
				</div>

      </div></div><!-- /.section, /#content -->
						
      
      <div class="region region-sidebar-second column sidebar"><div class="section">
    	<div id="block-block-22" class="block block-block region-odd even region-count-5 count-8">
	  	    <h2 class="title">Email</h2>
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <!-- Begin MailChimp Signup Form --><br><p style="font-size:14px;font-family:Tahoma;margin-left:10px;margin-right:40px">Sign up for our emails to stay updated on what we're doing and how you can help.</p>
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/slim-081711.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
	#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }
	/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
	   We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="http://demos.us6.list-manage1.com/subscribe/post?u=1cee3e038dcaec824486f6354&amp;id=e07d7f6936" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate>
	
	<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" class="email" id="mce-EMAIL" placeholder="email address" required>
	<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Subscribe" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</form>
</div>

<!--End mc_embed_signup-->	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
  	<div id="block-views-Blogs-block_3" class="block block-views region-even odd region-count-6 count-9">
	  	    <h2 class="title">Recent Posts</h2>
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <div class="views_view__Blogs view view-Blogs view-id-Blogs view-display-id-block_3 view-dom-id-Blogs-block-3-1">
    
  
        <div class="view-content">
      <div class="item-list">
    <ul>
          <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">  
  <div class="views-field-title">
                <span class="field-content"><a href="/blog/1/31/18/we-need-million-more-black-jobs-we-can-celebrate">We Need a Million More Black Jobs Before We Can Celebrate</a></span>
  </div>
  
  <span class="views-field-created">
                <span class="field-content">January 31, 2018</span>
  </span>
      <span class="separator">|</span>  
  <span class="views-field-name">
                <span class="field-content"><a href="/policy-shop/Algernon%20Austin">Algernon Austin</a></span>
  </span>
</li>
          <li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">  
  <div class="views-field-title">
                <span class="field-content"><a href="/blog/1/17/18/free-college-west-virginia-case-study-what-do-and-not-do">On Free College, West Virginia is a Case Study of What to Do and Not Do</a></span>
  </div>
  
  <span class="views-field-created">
                <span class="field-content">January 17, 2018</span>
  </span>
      <span class="separator">|</span>  
  <span class="views-field-name">
                <span class="field-content"><a href="/policy-shop/Mark%20Huelsman">Mark Huelsman</a></span>
  </span>
</li>
          <li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd views-row-last">  
  <div class="views-field-title">
                <span class="field-content"><a href="/blog/1/15/18/trump-v-mlk-rising-american-demos-supports-all-dreamers">Trump v. MLK: The Rising American Demos Supports All Dreamers</a></span>
  </div>
  
  <span class="views-field-created">
                <span class="field-content">January 15, 2018</span>
  </span>
      <span class="separator">|</span>  
  <span class="views-field-name">
                <span class="field-content"><a href="/policy-shop/Katherine%20Culliton-Gonz%C3%A1lez">Katherine Culliton-González</a></span>
  </span>
</li>
      </ul>
</div>    </div>
  
  
  
  
  
  
</div> 	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
  	<div id="block-block-21" class="block block-block region-odd even region-count-7 count-10">
	  	    <h2 class="title">Twitter</h2>
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <p><a class="twitter-timeline" data-dnt="true" data-widget-id="370949263364071424" data-chrome="nofooter transparent noborders noheader" href="https://twitter.com/Demos_Org">@Demos_Org</a> <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");</script></p>
	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
  	<div id="block-block-20" class="block block-block region-even odd region-count-8 count-11">
	  	    <h2 class="title">Facebook</h2>
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <p>&nbsp;</p>
<iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDemosIdeasAction&amp;width=345&amp;height=258&amp;show_faces=true&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;stream=false&amp;show_border=false&amp;header=false" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:345px; height:258px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
</div></div><!-- /.section, /.region -->

    </div></div><!-- /#main, /#main-wrapper -->

          <div id="footer"><div class="section">

        
        
        <div class="region region-footer">
    	<div id="block-menu-menu-footer-links" class="block block-menu first region-odd even region-count-1 count-14">
	  	    <h2 class="title">Footer Links</h2>
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <ul class="menu"><li class="leaf first"><a href="/contact" title="">Contact</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/privacy-policy" title="Privacy Policy">Privacy Policy</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/job-opportunities" title="Jobs">Job Opportunities</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/affiliates" title="Affiliates">Affiliates</a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/demos_rss.xml" title="">RSS Feed</a></li>
<li class="leaf last"><a href="/reprint-permissions" title="Reprint Permissions">Reprint Permissions</a></li>
</ul>	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
  	<div id="block-block-4" class="block block-block region-even odd region-count-2 count-15">
	  
	  <div class="content">
	    <p><span class="bracket">[</span>&nbsp;80 Broad Street, 4th Flr. New York, NY 10004 <span class="separator">|</span> 212.633.1405&nbsp;<span class="bracket">]</span></p>
	  </div>

	  	</div><!-- /.block -->
</div><!-- /.region -->

      </div></div><!-- /.section, /#footer -->
    
  </div></div><!-- /#page, /#page-wrapper -->

  
  <script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[//><!--
var _gaq = _gaq || [];_gaq.push(["_setAccount", "UA-21891156-1"]);_gaq.push(["_trackPageview"]);(function() {var ga = document.createElement("script");ga.type = "text/javascript";ga.async = true;ga.src = ("https:" == document.location.protocol ? "https://ssl" : "http://www") + ".google-analytics.com/ga.js";var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);})();
//--><!]]>
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[//><!--
if (typeof pageTracker != "undefined") {addthis_config.data_ga_tracker = pageTracker;}
//--><!]]>
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[//><!--
if (typeof addthis != "undefined") {addthis.init();}
//--><!]]>
</script>
  
  <script type='text/javascript'>
  $(function() {
    $('.boxy').boxy();
  });
  </script>

</body>
</html>
