“Hey Cosmo,” Penny called. “Take a look at this.” Cos Cutter reluctantly got up from his desk where he’d been furiously crunching numbers. He and Penny Pincher are part of the “waste elimination” team. They’re charged with finding ways to save taxpayer money.
“What cha got?” Cos asked.
“I think I’ve found something,” Penny replied cautiously. “If I’m right, this huge!” On Penny’s screen was a graph depicting global temperatures from 1980 through 2025. “See how there’s been a steady step-by-step rise in temps? Now watch this.” Then she pulled up another graph. This one depicted the number of “billion-dollar” (or more!) severe weather disasters in the U.S. during those same years. She displayed the two graphs side by side on her screen.
“Yeah… so it’s getting hotter,” Cos remarked. “What’s that got to do with saving money? I gotta get back to my desk.”
“Wait! Watch this.” Penny pleaded as she overlaid the temperature-rise graph on top of the disaster-cost graph. Cosmo starred wide-eyed and smacked his forehead. “Oh my God!” Cos exclaimed. “I see what you mean. The two graphs fit more or less perfectly on top of one another. As the temperatures step higher and higher so do the financial costs of extreme weather disasters. How could we have missed this? So…if we slowed the temperature rise, we would also slow the rise in disaster costs!”
When Cos and Penny dug further, they discovered that since 1980, the U.S. has had 426 billion-dollar disasters, with a total cost exceeding $3.1 trillion. In 2025 alone - the 3rd hottest year on record - there were 23 such events costing a total of $115 billion in damages. Year after year a growing number of people, homes, and businesses are being harmed.
“Gosh! What are we doing to ourselves?” Penny groaned. “While we bust our behinds looking for ways to cut costs, our administration is promoting pollution-producing, greenhouse-gas-emitting fuels that heat up the atmosphere. At the same time, it’s pulling support for clean energy expansion.”
Armed with this new revelation, patriotic Penny and conscientious Cosmo resolved to visit Congress. “Don’t you see, Congresswoman, this isn’t political. It’s simply a matter of reducing the misery and financial losses from these disasters. With better policies we’d also be protecting the only home we’ll ever know. Because ya know, there’s no ‘Planet B’. We’re all forever… Earthbound.”
“What cha got?” Cos asked.
“I think I’ve found something,” Penny replied cautiously. “If I’m right, this huge!” On Penny’s screen was a graph depicting global temperatures from 1980 through 2025. “See how there’s been a steady step-by-step rise in temps? Now watch this.” Then she pulled up another graph. This one depicted the number of “billion-dollar” (or more!) severe weather disasters in the U.S. during those same years. She displayed the two graphs side by side on her screen.
“Yeah… so it’s getting hotter,” Cos remarked. “What’s that got to do with saving money? I gotta get back to my desk.”
“Wait! Watch this.” Penny pleaded as she overlaid the temperature-rise graph on top of the disaster-cost graph. Cosmo starred wide-eyed and smacked his forehead. “Oh my God!” Cos exclaimed. “I see what you mean. The two graphs fit more or less perfectly on top of one another. As the temperatures step higher and higher so do the financial costs of extreme weather disasters. How could we have missed this? So…if we slowed the temperature rise, we would also slow the rise in disaster costs!”
When Cos and Penny dug further, they discovered that since 1980, the U.S. has had 426 billion-dollar disasters, with a total cost exceeding $3.1 trillion. In 2025 alone - the 3rd hottest year on record - there were 23 such events costing a total of $115 billion in damages. Year after year a growing number of people, homes, and businesses are being harmed.
“Gosh! What are we doing to ourselves?” Penny groaned. “While we bust our behinds looking for ways to cut costs, our administration is promoting pollution-producing, greenhouse-gas-emitting fuels that heat up the atmosphere. At the same time, it’s pulling support for clean energy expansion.”
Armed with this new revelation, patriotic Penny and conscientious Cosmo resolved to visit Congress. “Don’t you see, Congresswoman, this isn’t political. It’s simply a matter of reducing the misery and financial losses from these disasters. With better policies we’d also be protecting the only home we’ll ever know. Because ya know, there’s no ‘Planet B’. We’re all forever… Earthbound.”
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