Moira Birss
@moira.bsky.social
Climate, economic justice & human rights research, advocacy & policy visioning. Senior Fellow w/ @cplusc.bsky.social studying US disaster insurance & global policy. Board co-Chair of @lawgaction.bsky.social. Amo a 🇨🇴. Living on Ohlone land. she/ella/ela.
Pinned
Moira Birss
@moira.bsky.social
· Aug 29
There is a VERY strong reason to think that moving from private to public insurance will lead to political pressure that keeps premiums artificially low and incentivizes building in the riskiest areas. (See federal flood insurance)
The idea that insurance premiums are a good way to mitigate climate risk to housing is a common misconception that, unfortunately, can obscure real solutions to the risks of climate change and perpetuate existing inequities.
Why is that? Well...
1/8
Why is that? Well...
1/8
Reuters has a new story on state insurer-of-last-resort programs being stretched to their limits, using data from @cplusc.bsky.social's recent report.
What I would add to this coverage is more analysis of WHY these programs are in trouble & whether it's the right...
www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
What I would add to this coverage is more analysis of WHY these programs are in trouble & whether it's the right...
www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
How a US home insurance fix is becoming a problem
U.S. states have set up insurers to provide protection in disaster-prone areas that private insurance has avoided. They are taking on more risks as calamities become widespread.
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reuters has a new story on state insurer-of-last-resort programs being stretched to their limits, using data from @cplusc.bsky.social's recent report.
What I would add to this coverage is more analysis of WHY these programs are in trouble & whether it's the right...
www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
What I would add to this coverage is more analysis of WHY these programs are in trouble & whether it's the right...
www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...
Make America healthy again amirite?
Trump EPA to abandon air pollution rule that would prevent thousands of U.S. deaths
Trump EPA to abandon air pollution rule that would prevent thousands of U.S. deaths
The Environmental Protection Agency will no longer defend Biden-era limits on fine-particle pollution, which causes heart and lung disease.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Make America healthy again amirite?
Hell yes.
Moments ago: tenants of the South Shore apartment building that federal immigration agents raided at the end of September held a presser to announce they're forming a tenants union.
They're demanding, among other things, sewage removal and heat and electricity restroration.
More updates TK.
They're demanding, among other things, sewage removal and heat and electricity restroration.
More updates TK.
November 24, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Hell yes.
Reposted by Moira Birss
Abolishing ICE is only the beginning. Have you looked at your local cops?
..
According to mappingpoliceviolence.us, police kill at least three people per day; from a meta analysis published in NYT, we now know the number could be six or even more.
..
According to mappingpoliceviolence.us, police kill at least three people per day; from a meta analysis published in NYT, we now know the number could be six or even more.
November 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Abolishing ICE is only the beginning. Have you looked at your local cops?
..
According to mappingpoliceviolence.us, police kill at least three people per day; from a meta analysis published in NYT, we now know the number could be six or even more.
..
According to mappingpoliceviolence.us, police kill at least three people per day; from a meta analysis published in NYT, we now know the number could be six or even more.
Tax the rich to pay for public goods is actually pretty clear.
This is exactly what the oligarchs want you to think.
November 24, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Tax the rich to pay for public goods is actually pretty clear.
Reposted by Moira Birss
Anand Giridharadas' discussion of the Epstein emails as a record of the thought and conduct of white mail elites is the best writing on this subject I have seen in the last several weeks. Read it.
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Anand Giridharadas' discussion of the Epstein emails as a record of the thought and conduct of white mail elites is the best writing on this subject I have seen in the last several weeks. Read it.
Reposted by Moira Birss
Elon Musk donated $277 million to Trump so he could steal the federal government’s data, dismantle the nation’s infrastructure, and stop foreign aid from going to nonwhite people. It’s a quid pro quo breathtaking in scope, corruption, and damage, & completely unprecedented in American history.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Elon Musk donated $277 million to Trump so he could steal the federal government’s data, dismantle the nation’s infrastructure, and stop foreign aid from going to nonwhite people. It’s a quid pro quo breathtaking in scope, corruption, and damage, & completely unprecedented in American history.
Reposted by Moira Birss
1/2. “The COP of Truth cannot ignore science. 75% of carbon emissions come from fossil fuels. Today we are not even allowed to discuss pathways for a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.” Colombia at the close of #COP30.
November 22, 2025 at 5:49 PM
1/2. “The COP of Truth cannot ignore science. 75% of carbon emissions come from fossil fuels. Today we are not even allowed to discuss pathways for a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.” Colombia at the close of #COP30.
Reposted by Moira Birss
"..former colonial powers claim that colonialism wasn't prohibited under international law...and, therefore, no legal obligation to provide reparations exists. They also often defend their role in causing climate change by arguing that they were unaware of the harm" www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
True climate justice demands a reckoning with colonialism
By acknowledging how empire deepened climate vulnerability, the African Court can do what the ICJ refused to.
www.aljazeera.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:42 PM
"..former colonial powers claim that colonialism wasn't prohibited under international law...and, therefore, no legal obligation to provide reparations exists. They also often defend their role in causing climate change by arguing that they were unaware of the harm" www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
When my friend Jen was killed, we knew she would want us to do things differently when it came to how the legal system would treat the people involved.
This Snap Judgment episode tells some of that story in much of its complexity.
Love you, Jen. 💔
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
This Snap Judgment episode tells some of that story in much of its complexity.
Love you, Jen. 💔
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Jen Angel
Podcast Episode · Snap Judgment · 11/20/2025 · 49m
podcasts.apple.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:46 PM
When my friend Jen was killed, we knew she would want us to do things differently when it came to how the legal system would treat the people involved.
This Snap Judgment episode tells some of that story in much of its complexity.
Love you, Jen. 💔
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
This Snap Judgment episode tells some of that story in much of its complexity.
Love you, Jen. 💔
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Reposted by Moira Birss
We have a political problem, not a tech problem. What I think is happening is that the tech-optimists are looking for the thing that will bring the FF industry on board (spoiler: continued fossil fuel use) so they can bypass the political issue. Won't work and we're wasting time on make believe.
Especially because the problem is not lack of solutions: it's the fact that we are being prevented from implementing them.
3/n
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
3/n
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
November 19, 2025 at 7:44 PM
We have a political problem, not a tech problem. What I think is happening is that the tech-optimists are looking for the thing that will bring the FF industry on board (spoiler: continued fossil fuel use) so they can bypass the political issue. Won't work and we're wasting time on make believe.
Housing should not be a commodity.
This story is honestly insane. Faraway investors buying up Detroit homes and turning them into crypto tokens; letting housing fall into disrepair, and evicting residents. This is what happens in an extraction economy.
Housing + Private Equity = A recipe for profit over people.
As urgency grows around housing and affordability, we peel back the curtain on an issue impacting hundreds of Detroit residents: housing as a digital investment asset.
https://bit.ly/4o1ISIg
As urgency grows around housing and affordability, we peel back the curtain on an issue impacting hundreds of Detroit residents: housing as a digital investment asset.
https://bit.ly/4o1ISIg
November 18, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Housing should not be a commodity.
Reposted by Moira Birss
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Reposted by Moira Birss
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
November 16, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
Reposted by Moira Birss
'Even the notion of “quality of life” as a measurable standard is based on assumptions that a “good” healthy life is one without disability, pain, and suffering. I live with all three intimately and I feel more vital than ever at this point in time, because of my experiences and relationships.'
“I’m disabled and need a ventilator to live. Am I expendable during this pandemic?”
As medical rationing becomes a reality, “quality of life” measures threaten disabled people like me.
www.vox.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:59 AM
'Even the notion of “quality of life” as a measurable standard is based on assumptions that a “good” healthy life is one without disability, pain, and suffering. I live with all three intimately and I feel more vital than ever at this point in time, because of my experiences and relationships.'
Voters in Ecuador roundly rejected a presidential trial proposal to allow foreign (read: US) military bases to reopen. This is a blow to Washington’s plans to (re)establish - permanent military presence in the Pacific coast of South America. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Ecuador votes against allowing foreign military bases in country
Voters have rejected a referendum proposal, dealing a blow to President Daniel Noboa and US ambitions in the region.
www.bbc.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Voters in Ecuador roundly rejected a presidential trial proposal to allow foreign (read: US) military bases to reopen. This is a blow to Washington’s plans to (re)establish - permanent military presence in the Pacific coast of South America. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Moira Birss
Remember: The richest 1% evade over $160 billion in taxes every year.
That amount would fund SNAP for a year with money to spare.
Ask yourself who the real freeloaders are.
That amount would fund SNAP for a year with money to spare.
Ask yourself who the real freeloaders are.
November 14, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Remember: The richest 1% evade over $160 billion in taxes every year.
That amount would fund SNAP for a year with money to spare.
Ask yourself who the real freeloaders are.
That amount would fund SNAP for a year with money to spare.
Ask yourself who the real freeloaders are.
Many Democratic Party leaders have no courage to stand up against the atrocities being committed by this administration. But these folks sure do (as do many others across the country).
“Standing for our neighbors, we shall not be moved”
November 14, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Many Democratic Party leaders have no courage to stand up against the atrocities being committed by this administration. But these folks sure do (as do many others across the country).
Seen just now in NW DC: statue of Tr*mp & Epstein dancing together, in honor of “friendship month”.
A passerby assured me this wasn’t here as of 4 hours ago.
A passerby assured me this wasn’t here as of 4 hours ago.
November 13, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Seen just now in NW DC: statue of Tr*mp & Epstein dancing together, in honor of “friendship month”.
A passerby assured me this wasn’t here as of 4 hours ago.
A passerby assured me this wasn’t here as of 4 hours ago.
When we submit the existence of essential services to the whims of private companies whose top goal is profit, we inevitably end up with failures like this that leave many people unprotected. This is also what’s happening with home insurance (which I study).
After Republicans refused to extend ACA subsidies, 4 Michigan insurers are dropping out of the ACA marketplace altogether. That’s 200,000 Michiganders who just lost their plans.
Four health insurers are dropping or significantly curtailing individual market offerings in 2026 as insurance pools are predicted to grow sicker. bit.ly/444v08M
November 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
When we submit the existence of essential services to the whims of private companies whose top goal is profit, we inevitably end up with failures like this that leave many people unprotected. This is also what’s happening with home insurance (which I study).
This is a huge break in long-established cooperation between the US and Colombia on intelligence related to drug trafficking.
I have plenty of critiques of that policy history, but it's wild how much Trump's unhinged belligerence in the Caribbean has shifted foreign policy norms in the Americas.
I have plenty of critiques of that policy history, but it's wild how much Trump's unhinged belligerence in the Caribbean has shifted foreign policy norms in the Americas.
Colombia suspends intelligence sharing with US over strikes on Caribbean boats
The move ends decades of cooperation on law-enforcement in the region
LATEST for PWS by Adriaan Alselma
www.piratewireservices.com/p/colombia-s...
The move ends decades of cooperation on law-enforcement in the region
LATEST for PWS by Adriaan Alselma
www.piratewireservices.com/p/colombia-s...
Colombia suspends intelligence sharing with US over strikes on Caribbean boats
The move ends decades of cooperation on law-enforcement in the region
www.piratewireservices.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:06 PM
This is a huge break in long-established cooperation between the US and Colombia on intelligence related to drug trafficking.
I have plenty of critiques of that policy history, but it's wild how much Trump's unhinged belligerence in the Caribbean has shifted foreign policy norms in the Americas.
I have plenty of critiques of that policy history, but it's wild how much Trump's unhinged belligerence in the Caribbean has shifted foreign policy norms in the Americas.
It’s a real bummer that the collapse of insurance markets keeps getting covered as if it were the fault of individuals rather than logical outcome of an industry focused more on profit than protection. climateandcommunity.org/research/pro...
November 12, 2025 at 1:37 PM
It’s a real bummer that the collapse of insurance markets keeps getting covered as if it were the fault of individuals rather than logical outcome of an industry focused more on profit than protection. climateandcommunity.org/research/pro...
Tax the rich!
Kind of wild that while food assistance was withheld from millions of families, one Trump-supporting billionaire (Ellison) saw his net worth grow more this year than the entire SNAP budget. And the YTD gains of the other four richest men would’ve fully covered salaries for all 2M federal employees.
November 12, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Tax the rich!
Reposted by Moira Birss
Please remember that flawed human beings who have made mistakes deserve dignity too, an undocumented person with a criminal record still doesn’t deserve violence at the whim of the government.
Not everyone ICE is targeting is a perfect person and you shouldn’t fixate on that.
Not everyone ICE is targeting is a perfect person and you shouldn’t fixate on that.
November 12, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Please remember that flawed human beings who have made mistakes deserve dignity too, an undocumented person with a criminal record still doesn’t deserve violence at the whim of the government.
Not everyone ICE is targeting is a perfect person and you shouldn’t fixate on that.
Not everyone ICE is targeting is a perfect person and you shouldn’t fixate on that.
Resharing this as COP30 begins. With the US going in the wrong direction on climate & Europe dragging its feet, we desperately need climate leadership from Global South countries. But the hands of Global South countries are largely tied by today's IFA. That could -- and should -- change.
Transformative visions for green industrial policy in the Global South are, unfortunately, impossible without a redesign of today's international financial architecture (IFA). In a new @cplusc.bsky.social report with @laramerling.bsky.social, we explain... 1/4
climateandcommunity.org/research/gre...
climateandcommunity.org/research/gre...
November 11, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Resharing this as COP30 begins. With the US going in the wrong direction on climate & Europe dragging its feet, we desperately need climate leadership from Global South countries. But the hands of Global South countries are largely tied by today's IFA. That could -- and should -- change.