Wildfires and drought in California, hurricanes and flooding in Florida and power outages in Texas have rendered all three states distinctly less livable in recent years.
People still flock to Florida and Texas, drawn by low taxes and warmth. (California, not so much.) But climate change is on everyone’s minds, and dire dispatches about fires and floods dominate the daily news cycle.
“The data actually shows that some of the fastest-growing cities are some of those that are at the greatest risk of disasters,” said Diane Vukovic, disaster-preparedness expert at Primal Survivor, a popular “prepper” website.
A recent Census Bureau list of the 15 fastest-growing cities includes three each in Texas and Florida.
Yet, climate change has posited a new idea in American culture: Parts of the United States may not be habitable for much longer.