Declarations

“We’re marching steadily towards an uninsurable future in the United States because we’re not doing enough fast enough to address the underlying cause, which is climate change.”

— Dave Jones, California’s insurance commissioner from 2011 to 2018. Citing rising fire risks and other problems, seven of the top 12 insurance companies either paused or restricted new business in California in 2023. State regulations give insurers more latitude to raise premiums in exchange for issuing policies in high-risk areas, including consideration of climate change in premiums and passing the costs of reinsurance to consumers.

“The context of 2024 is of continued trends of severe storms and hail, heat waves and drought, a weakened but continuing respiratory infection pandemic, and geopolitical concerns within and between countries. AI is trumpeted to revolutionize business unless the technology facilitates a doomsday scenario.”

— The 18th Annual Emerging Risk Survey, a joint survey from the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries.

“If this is the way they are, (Trump) ought to do away with (FEMA). Their attitude was, you know, this happened to you, but it’s up to you to fix it. And I ain’t the one who caused it.”

— Danny Bailey, a 61-year-old Buncombe County, North Carolina retiree, said he struggled with his FEMA application process after Hurricane Helene. He eventually received $42,500 after losing the trailer he lived in, his sister’s double-wide mobile home and a barn to flooding. His family had moved to the property in 1968.

“The vaping industry is taking a page out of Big Tobacco’s playbook: they’re making nicotine seem cool, getting kids hooked, and creating a massive public health crisis in the process.”

— Letitia James, New York state attorney general, who is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in civil fines and damages from 16 corporate and individual defendants for gross negligence and creating a public nuisance by selling fruit- and candy-flavored vapor products to impressionable children. A 2020 state law bans sales of flavored vapor products and requires vape purchasers to be at least 21. E-cigarettes have been the most used tobacco product among U.S. children since 2014.

“If we have less people involved, that is a win.”

— Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. Two North Dakota nonprofits, North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, the Immigrant Development Center, have settled their lawsuit against Patriot Front, a white nationalist hate group. The group allegedly intimidated immigrant business owners. The lawsuit could impact the group’s recruitment because of the accountability it brings, Carroll Rivas said.

“It’s a simple matter of looking at the housing stock that’s available and looking at the growing demand and looking at every option to expand those opportunities. The Lord’s not making new land.”

— Texas Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Mineola Republican, arguing for new legislation that would effectively allow owners of struggling office properties in the state’s largest cities to convert that space into residences. The bill would forbid cities and counties from requiring owners of flagging office buildings and commercial properties like shopping malls and strip centers to go through a rezoning process if they want to add apartments or condominiums.