Profits over planet? Experts eye companies at crucial moment for climate change fight
As heat waves, droughts and major storms multiply, environmentalists look to businesses to do their part to help save the planet. How will that affect their bottom line?
Kyle BagenstoseJune 1 marked the start of another perilous hurricane season in the Eastern USA.
Many communities are still recovering from last year, when there were 21 named tropical storms, the third- most on record. Led by Hurricane Ida, they caused destruction from southern Louisiana, where officials in Houma are racing to repair schools for opening this fall, to southeast Pennsylvania, where counties cope with a surging homeless population after residents were economically devastated.
The storms contributed to $152 billion in natural disaster damages in 2021, third-highest in history. Scientists predict 2022 will be a record-setting seventh consecutive year with above-average tropical storm activity, as climate change and poor development choices supercharge storms and the cost of their destruction.
Within the gathering clouds, there lies a silver lining for some: profit.