Government Policies Pretaining to Weather and Climate Extremes

Government policies have long addressed the impacts of extreme weather and climate events. National policies relating to flood control began in 1804, and have evolved to include policies related to droughts and heat and cold waves administered at the local, state, and/or national levels. Most policies from 1804 to 1940 led to efforts to structurally control against losses (e.g., levees, land use controls, conservation practices, reservoirs for irrigation, etc.). An 1870 policy decision led to the formation of the Weather Bureau which through warnings was to protect life and property. By the 1940s, the structural-based policy approaches were recognized as costly and lacking in desired effectiveness. A new era of non structural approaches began, involving incentives for people to do the right things (e.g., don't build in floodplains) and use of insurance. The federal approach to assistance to those damaged by severe events shifted in 1950 allowing Presidential declarations for providing federal aid to disasters. This politically-driven program grew rapidly (479 weather disasters declared since 1953) and funds awarded became so large by the 1990s ($20 billion from 1992 to 1996) that the process finally became recognized as a budget threatening. Government policies began shifting again, emphasizing individual responsibility and mitigation activities. What policies will develop around extremes in the future? Mitigation is likely to receive policy emphasis along with policies that call for greater personal responsibility such as laws that make costly insurance mandatory in dangerous areas. Government will likely become a backstop for the private insurance industry against massive loses. Weather derivatives, an emerging commercial-based means for hedging against losses from weather extremes, will likely develop extensively, problems are apt to follow, and these market-based approaches for handling weather risks will likely come under scrutiny and policy attention. Human actions that enhance environmental problems, such as global warming and its potential for changing climate extremes, will also likely create future policies that limit human activities.