by Kiara DeVaughn

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, greenhouse gas emissions have increased rapidly, causing unstable weather patterns. A recent study has found that due to this increase of emissions, Atlantic hurricanes have become stronger and have developed faster over the past 50 years. The increase in emissions has been due to human actions causing the entire planet and its oceans to heat up. 

From 1970 to 1990, hurricanes along the east coast of the U.S. were deemed category one hurricanes during formation, but now they are considered to be category three during formation. Hurricane formation has become worse over time, as seen with the 28.7 percent increase from the 1970s to 1990s. This increased likelihood of hurricane formation happens because of the warming of the waters feeding more energy to forming hurricanes, causing a stronger storm and increased damage. 

A recent study made shows how these increased hurricanes have made U.S. renters along the east coast more vulnerable. After devastating hurricanes, rent has been shown to rise substantially due to a decrease in housing availability, even more so in places with a high percentage of renters. Their ability to receive government-funded relief for the aftermath of these disastrous hurricanes is low, as the funding programs are more targeted towards homeowners. This same study also shows that during the year of and the year after a hurricane, rent costs spike, leaving renters to face eviction threats.  

Better relief programs that benefit renters would help in preventing renters from facing evictions after hurricanes. Another key thing that could be done to limit the impact of hurricanes is to regulate human use of fossil fuels, as this is the key reason why our waters are warming. Monitored and sustainable usage of fossil fuels can decrease the number of emissions we release. Although there is no way to completely reverse climate change, many measures can be taken to prevent the problem from becoming worse.