Document Type
Student Article
Abstract
Climate change is an increasingly prevalent issue in policy discussions across the United States. Its effects can be observed and measured across ecosystems, industries, and legal jurisdictions, and it is felt in the homes of the people who live and work at the forefront of its impacts. Yet, the federal government’s current policies incentivize states, localities, and private citizens to make poor climate decisions and to put themselves at risk, leading to population growth and property development in some of the most at-risk areas of the country. At the same time, the federal government operates on an outdated disaster response system and lacks a unified climate-mitigation policy framework. This Comment analyzes the deficiencies of the historical approaches to climate impacts in two contrasting contexts: coastal sea-level rise in Florida and water scarcity in Arizona. It analyzes the successes and failures of the policies in those two respective states, then offers proposals for two complementary goals: (a) updates to the current United States federal disaster response and mitigation approach and (b) policy changes that the federal government can make to incentivize states, localities, and private citizens to avoid or move out of high-risk areas or, in the alternative, adjust their behavior to for long-term sustainability.
DOI
10.37419/JPL.V11.I2.1
First Page
239
Last Page
284
Recommended Citation
Armand J. Avila,
Rising Tides And Shifting Sands: Inadequacies In American Climate Responses And An Urgent Call For A Federal Climate Adaptation Policy,
11
Tex. A&M J. Prop. L.
239
(2025).
Available at:
https://doi.org/10.37419/JPL.V11.I2.1
