PREFACE……….. i

PART I   PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES……….. 1

1 Gauge your financial vulnerability……….. 2

Small margins of safety….. 2
Family spending at risk….. 3
Family income at risk….. 4
Family assets at risk….. 5
Sneak attacks on your finances….. 5
Your first defense: a family budget. Ugh!….. 7
Your geographic vulnerability….. 11

2 Retain secure access to food……….. 12

How our food costs will increase……….. 13
Protecting your food budget……….. 20
Where to live to strengthen your food security……….. 30

3 Hold down your energy costs……….. 33

How our energy costs could change……….. 34
What could keep energy prices down….. 34
What could keep energy prices up….. 36
Protecting your energy budget……….. 42
Where to live to minimize your energy costs……….. 48

4 Avert health costs……….. 52

How our health costs will increase……….. 52
Protecting the health budget……….. 57
Where to live to reduce your health costs……….. 58

5 Secure low-cost transportation options……….. 62

How our transportation costs will increase……….. 62
Costs we’ll pay through fees and taxes….. 62
Costs we’ll pay directly, on and off the road….. 65
Protecting your transportation budget……….. 68
Where to live for lower-cost transportation……….. 73

6 Avoid rising state and local taxes……….. 76

How our state and local taxes will increase……….. 76
Cuts in state and local services……….. 83
Costs from warming on top of existing urgencies….. 85
Protecting against state and local taxes……….. 86
Where to live for lower state and local taxes……….. 96

7 Protect against rising federal taxes……….. 100

How our federal taxes will increase……….. 100
Getting the most from your federal taxes……….. 108
Where to live to lower your federal income taxes……….. 110

PART II   PROSPER AS YOUR SURROUNDINGS WARM……….. 112

8 Keep your home’s costs down, its value up……….. 113

How housing costs will rise and values fall……….. 113
Rising domestic water costs….. 115
Safeguarding your home and its value……….. 118
Protecting yourself from water costs….. 122
Destruction of value caused by warming….. 123
Understanding your home’s investment value….. 126
Where to live to protect your net worth……….. 127

9 Choose financial investments prudently……….. 132

How our assets will be affected by warming……….. 132
Investments with recognized upsides….. 133
Other investments with long-term downsides….. 143
Information as key to investing well….. 146
Defensive investing….. 148
Where to live for better investment opportunities……….. 149

10 Work in a good job market……….. 151

Strengthening your career in the face of warming……….. 151
Industries likely to wither….. 153
Industries predicted to hire….. 154
Developing the right skills….. 120
Helping to create local jobs….. 163
Where to live for better job opportunities……….. 165

11 Understand how much place matters……….. 168

The risks in your hometown, and others….. 170
A good place to live: one last indicator….. 175

PART III   DEVELOP A CLIMATE-PROOF MINDSET……….. 181

12 Adopt attitudes that protect you……….. 182

Think mobile…… 182
Think simple…… 186
Think provident…… 140
Think multi-generational…… 191
Think sharing…… 192
Think self-reliant….. 197
Think compassionate…… 198
Think vigilant…… 202

13 Get started now!……….. 204

Think no-regrets…… 204
Getting ahead of the crowd….. 208
Your own tipping points….. 213
Is this your family?….. 216

Acknowledgments……….. 218

The Author……….. 220

INDEX……….. 221