Armoring the Just Transition Activist

The fossil fuel energy system, reinforced by oppressive policies and practices, has disproportionately harmed poor people, Indigenous people, and Brown and Black people and driven the global climate crisis. A just transition, which displaces fossil fuels and redistributes renewable energy resources, requires policies that are rooted in equity and shift power back to the hands of the most vulnerable. Just Transition Activists, leaders, organizers, and changemakers in the just transition movement, must develop transformative skillsets necessary to radically reimagine our world and dismantle the current unequal system of law and policy. This analysis explores the skills, attributes, beliefs, and attitudes for Just Transition Activists required in the pursuit of systemic change in the energy system. Section I discusses the lessons learned from the environmental justice and climate justice movements, which have yet to create the transformative change in the energy system required for a just transition. Section II describes the Just Transition Framework that provides a reimagined path forward to justice in the energy system. And Section III explores a transformative skillset for Just Transition Activists engaged in the energy justice movement. These recommendations were crafted for activists and advocates to build upon lessons learned from earlier movements and develop the skillsets necessary to achieve a truly just society

There Will Be Floods: Armoring the People of Florida to Make Informed Decisions on Flood Risk

In Florida, a peninsula surrounded by water with the second-lowest mean elevation in the country, there will be floods.[1] A global study ranking cities most vulnerable to losses from flooding lists Miami first in the United States and sixth globally; Tampa-St. Petersburg is listed as 16th globally.[2] Yet there are no state statutes or regulations in Florida that require a seller or landlord to make flood-related disclosures to homebuyers and renters. In contrast, while varying in scope, 29 states require flood-risk disclosures in real estate transactions.[3] Though Florida should be leading in this arena, in an evaluation of nationwide flood disclosure laws, the Natural Resources Defense Council gave Florida the lowest grade possible because of the lack of measures in place to protect homebuyers and renters.[4] This article provides an overview of the state of flood risk disclosures in real property transactions in Florida, what an ideal disclosure for both rental agreements and sales of residential property[5] would look like, and potential pathways for Florida to mandate flood risk disclosures. As the majority of states have recognized, by disclosing a property’s flood risk, a seller or landlord equips a buyer or renter with the information to prepare for the future and mitigate potential losses. Most importantly, people will be able to make informed decisions about one of the biggest investments they will choose to make in their life — where to live