The state of Florida's homeowners insurance "problem" came into focus again this week. As a short summary, one small company (Peoples Trust, quite the name) has many homes that they insured in the path of Hurricane Ian. They have told homeowners it can take 10 months or more just to get an adjustor out their home. And the company policy says that repairs can only be done by one specific company (that is, no checks are issued for repairs, just the company makes repairs), after the adjustor visits.
Reaching their wits end, it being more than 10 months living with damage, some people went ahead and had repairs done. And what did the insurer do? They sued the homeowners for violating the terms of their policy. The homeowners are appealing to the state for help. But guess what? The COO of the company used to be Florida's insurance commissioner. I can't imagine that he's not "connected" - and that it's unlikely the state will do anything.
I am dumbfounded by this process. And these poor people just want to live in their undamaged houses, you know, like they did last year. Is that asking for too much?
As we continue to reach further into the stars, and start thinking about sending humans into deeper space, we have to think about how we communicate with the crafts and people who leave the Earth.
And that's where the "Deep Space Optical Communications" comes in. As a part of the Psyche space probe that will examine a deep space asteroid, NASA has included a laser-based communications system that is around 10x faster than traditional radio relays - and allows for larger data streams, such as high resolution video.
This is quite a step forward, and should lead to even more innovation. You can read more here:
The USA Today had a good summary of the latest Climate Assessment (a Federal Report on Climate Change). For context, this was something that Congress started in the 1980s: every 4 years, a climate report is produced.
The latest one is unapologetic. CO2 emissions are high. The world is getting hotter. We can't ignore the risks. Humans are the primary cause for the change. "The risks matter and so do our choices." We need to take action.
Read about it at USA Today, link to the actual report is in the article
Oxford Economics did a study of the economic impact of Walt Disney World in Florida. Disney self-published the results They are:
In fiscal year 2022, Disney had a total economic impact of $40.3 billion in Florida.
263,000 total jobs, or 1 out of every 32 jobs in Florida, is attributable to Disney (including 1 in 8 that we directly support here in Central Florida).
We at Disney World work with 2,500 small businesses based in Florida. These entrepreneurs and small business owners play an important role in bringing magic to life for our guests.
$6.6 billion in tax revenue, including $3.1 billion in annual state and local tax revenue was generated by Disney, visitors, employees and third-party businesses.
To my eyes, this appears to be in response to the ongoing nonsense with the governor of Florida. But even so, its interesting to see it put into numbers.
And of course, Disney goes on to talk about Give Kids the World and the Second Harvest food bank, to which they contribute as not directly benefiting the economy.
Oxford Economics Ltd. provides economics services. The Company offers economic forecasts, quantitative analysis, global forecasting, and modeling services. Oxford Economics serves customers throughout the world.
Ron Magill is known for being a conservationist and has shown skills as a wildlife photographer. But, in South Florida he is known as the face of Zoo Miami. He is officially the communications director, but he is so much more. He was a part of moving the zoo to its current home. He was there after Hurricane Andrew, helping to get the animals secured. He talks relentlessly about conservation and the perils to our environment.
And now he's speaking out against a proposed water park on the land next to the zoo for specific environmental reasons. He's someone worth listening to, and I encourage you to read more about him and this story.
We can learn a lot about how we can help the environment from him, and in turn help ourselves. We can learn to be more outspoken, like him, too.
These "wealthy fat cats" often are chasing money and will deride science, or present their own contrary version from what amount to paid shills. We should always be alert and aware of such shenanigans.
Dave’s Musings
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