I live in Northern California and had to evacuate in October of 2017. Before that and after the 2017 fires I began pressing my representatives to give tax incentives for cistern construction and mandate it for new home and business construction. I’ve added bunkers to my list. My state representatives have yet to respond. My next appeals will go to the governor.

Living through the threat of fires is bone-wrenching and terrifying. I have been emotionally affected in a deep way with regard to the plight of the humans, plants and animals of the Australian fires.

If the climate crisis is not addressed on all fronts in all ways now most of humanity with deal with horrendous suffering and death. The short-sightedness of capitalistic thinking is dooming our ability as a species to survive what is coming.

The question is do we continue to measure the cost, cutting costs in the short term with regard to the death of almost all humans in the long term? Or to we cooperate and work together on solving the many complex problems?

You can’t eat money for survival.