Rebecca Elliott (LSE): Who Pays for the Next Wave? The American Welfare State and Responsibility for Flood Risk. Republicans in Congress are reportedly moving to slash funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency just as FEMA goes to work rebuilding Houston and the Texas coast from Hurricane Harvey. On disaster relief, Republicans go beyond hypocrisy. Everyone’s a socialist after a natural disaster: Ted Cruz’s hypocrisy won’t stop government from helping in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, but Texas will be needing help for a long time. Trump team politicizes superstorm Harvey by attacking scientists for doing their job. Harvey is part of a pattern of extreme weather scientists saw coming — they’re still shocked.
Harvey’s hidden side effect: 74 incidents of excess air pollution have been reported since the hurricane hit, totaling more than one million pounds of emissions. Houston: what are the long-term consequences? ProPublica: “1/ #Harvey has devastated Texas. In time of devastation, people give to disaster relief. And so let’s talk about the @RedCross for a second”.
