Prepare or Perish
The Storm Doesn’t Wait for Debate
July 12, 2025, Montgomery County, TX
In the past week alone, climate change has stopped being a future concern. It has become a present emergency.
More than 100 people perished in Texas as catastrophic floods overtook communities after a series of failed warnings and underfunded infrastructure. At the same time, record-breaking heat in Europe scorched Spain, Portugal, and the UK, with wildfires disrupting power and emergency services. Thousands died. Millions more suffered.
Yet in Congress, debates over whether to acknowledge the climate crisis continue to stall critical preparedness funding.
"The storm doesn’t wait for debate."
This isn’t metaphor. It’s policy failure.
The Cost of Delay
What happened in Texas wasn’t a fluke, it was a forecast come true.
The National Weather Service had long flagged the region’s vulnerability to torrential rainfall and rapid runoff. But decades of ignored warnings and infrastructure deferral turned nature’s fury into a human-made disaster. FEMA’s 2024 report highlighted the need for levee reinforcement, mobile alerts, and elevated road design. None were funded at scale.
And now? Entire neighborhoods have vanished.
Climate Is a Public Safety Issue
We often treat climate conversations as ideological battlegrounds. But ask any family evacuated by boat last week whether they care about red states or blue states.
They care about safe drinking water, power that doesn’t go out, and schools that don’t close for heat emergencies. These are not partisan luxuries. These are public goods.
If we can fund endless wars and corporate bailouts, we can fund a stormproof grid and flood-safe neighborhoods.
Policy Is Preparedness
Our current climate funding debate is like arguing over lifeboat placement after the ship hits the iceberg.
A few crucial policy actions could save lives next year:
Modernize FEMA funding formulas to prioritize frontline communities.
Invest in green infrastructure: elevated roads, permeable pavement, reforestation.
Pass the Resilient America Act (H.R. 5685) stalled in committee for over a year. Bill summary here.
These aren’t radical ideas. They’re overdue.
What You Can Do
You don’t need to be an expert to act. You just need to care.
Call your representatives and ask how they voted on climate resilience bills.
Support local mutual aid groups offering shelter and food after floods.
Share this poster and message on your social media to spark conversation.
If we stay silent, the next storm will find us even less prepared.
Prepare or perish.
The time to act was yesterday. The second best time is today.
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Further Reading:
Poster by ForgeTheTruth.com