Texas is in the thrall of an extreme drought. Wildfires this season have already burnt an area larger than Rhode Island.
“This is a situation of historic proportions,” said Victoria Koenig, public information officer with the Texas Forest Service…”The fuels are so dry. The winds are astronomical. The behavior of the winds is a perplexing situation. It’s never been like this before.”
Naively, I wonder if the Texas state government will ever support and publicize an inquiry into the many drivers of the extreme drought risk Texas now faces. (If it has done so already, let me know -I would be shocked.) Such an understanding seems essential to disaster preparedness – surely not a partisan issue, but one central to good government.
Adapting to disasters that could have been partially mitigated is extremely costly to society, but can be immensely lucrative for particular classes and sectors. As long as corporate enterprise can socialize the long-term risks they generate and privatize the short-term profit gained from the generation of those risks, they will pursue these opportunities ever more ardently. And predictable situations like the drought now striking Texas will only become more frequent and severe.