As of 7 a.m. on January 26, the wildfires in Los Angeles were 90 percent contained after having burned thousands of acres. This devastating event is a reminder of how the climate crisis will increase the prevalence and severity of natural disasters.
It has been scientifically proven our planet is warming because of human activities like deforestation, excessive burning of fossil fuels, industrial processes, and unsustainable agricultural operations. All of this is going on right in front of us, and yet people — like our president — still deny the fact that climate change is real.
And as the planet’s temperature continues to increase, natural disasters will become more intense and more frequent.
The 27 natural disasters in the U.S. last year cost the government $182.7 billion in damages. But, financial matters aside, we lost 568 Americans to extreme weather in 2024.
The Los Angeles wildfires alone claimed the lives of 29 California residents. There have not been many details shared about the victims, but we know at least two people stayed behind to protect their familial homes, and one man stayed with his son, who was unable to evacuate due to his cerebral palsy.
While these people were fighting to try and protect their homes and loved ones, residents in more wealthy areas relaxed after calling private firefighters to defend their stately mansions. Private firefighters — who work for companies funded by individuals — are among a select few profiting off this horrible and destructive event.
Shortly before the fires broke out in Los Angeles, companies like Allstate and State Farm started canceling the insurance policies of those living in the areas that were most likely to be impacted. These companies chose to protect their assets over the lives and well-being of their customers.
Unfortunately, for those whose insurance policies were canceled, the wildfires were not the only natural disaster to hit California last month. The first winter rain in Southern California led to landslides, flooding, and mudslides.
Natural disasters almost always make headline news, but their connection to the global issue of the climate crisis is overlooked. This could be because climate change has become a political issue, and the increased polarization between political parties makes it a hot-button issue.
I asked Shaun Vecera, a University of Iowa professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, about why the issue of climate change has become politicized and the psychological reasoning behind why people choose not to believe the science behind global warming.
“There’s some really interesting history here because climate change hasn’t always been political,” Vecera said. “President George H. W. Bush was the first president to raise concerns about climate change. On the 1988 campaign trail, he famously said, ‘Those who think we are powerless to do anything about the greenhouse effect are forgetting about the White House effect.’ As is often the case, though, lobbying and other efforts ended up politicizing the issue.”
Vecera said because climate change has become a political issue, people base their opinion of global warming on their political party or their social group, as they try to adhere to their social norms. This motivates the rejection of climate science by those in social groups whose norms are to not believe in the climate crisis.
I also asked Vecera about the presence of natural disasters and if they have any effect on people’s perceptions of climate change. Vecera said these natural disasters and their increasing prevalence can move climate change beliefs, especially among those affected by the disaster.
He used Superstorm Sandy as an example, saying that those who were affected by the disaster showed the largest change in beliefs about climate change.
We shouldn’t have to wait around for natural disasters to convince those choosing to deny the existence of global warming for something to be done about it. Unfortunately, President Trump is one of the ignorant few who are aware of the existence of climate change but choose not to accept it.
On the day of Trump’s inauguration, he signed an executive order removing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, which aimed to limit global warming.
Without global collaboration on the issue of climate change, nothing will get done. Biden made significant progress during his presidency, signing executive orders to better America’s sustainability and lower the production of greenhouse gases. All of his hard work could be undone due to the current president’s belief that climate science is a hoax.
If Americans learn anything from the devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires, it’s that natural disasters will keep happening on a larger scale if we don’t get serious about global warming.