Current conditions: More than 4 feet of rain have fallen in Australia’s Queensland state since Saturday, triggering a flooding disaster • Parts of Los Angeles are under an air quality alert due to particle pollution • A large storm system will torment millions of Americans across the Plains and East Coast later this week.THE TOP FIVE1. Trump tariffs on Canada and Mexico loomOn Saturday evening, President Trump signed orders placing 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico, and a lower, 10% tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas, uranium, and other energy sources. Trump also imposed a 10% tariff on all goods imported from China. If the tariffs go into effect tomorrow as planned, they will affect nearly half of America’s imports and reshape some of the world’s most important energy and trading relationships. They could shrink the United States’ GDP by 0.4%, while increasing taxes by $830 per household, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a center-right think tank. As Heatmap’s Robinson Meyer has reported, the tariffs will hurt a lot of people and businesses, including:the American oil industry, refineries, and anyone who buys gasoline in the Midwest and Mountain West, where Canadian oil plays a much larger role in local markets. They will hurt diesel and jet fuel prices in those regions too.anyone who uses electricity across the parts of the country, especially the Northeast, that import large amounts of electricity from Canada’s hydroelectric plants.home builders and construction companies because the United States gets its best building-grade lumber from Canada.anyone who wants to buy or rent a home in the United States because the lack of lumber will worsen the housing shortage and general affordability crisis.automakers, who in the past three decades have constructed sophisticated supply chains spanning North America. They’ll also hurt autoworkers, dealerships, and people looking to buy cars. By one estimate, prices for U.S. car buyers will rise by an average of $3,000.2. Climate change expected to slash $1.5 trillion from U.S. home valuesClimate change will wipe $1.47 trillion off of U.S. home values by 2055, according to a new report from First Street. Extreme weather is causing insurance costs to rise, while also changing the desirability of certain areas. This convergence “suggests there may be fundamental restructuring of home values across the U.S. in the coming decades,” with property values expected to fall across the country. Some statistics from the report: 55 million – Total number of Americans expected to voluntarily relocate to avoid climate risks by 2055.5.2 million – Americans expected to do so this year.12.8 million – Americans expected to relocate because of wildfire smoke particulate matter by 2055. Nearly 12 million will move because of flooding, 14.7 million because of extreme heat, and 11 million due to drought.31% – increase in the cost of homeowners insurance since 20
Lun. Feb 3rd, 2025
