Quote:For Climate Scientists, the Siberian Anthrax Outbreak Is a Sign of What’s to Come If you’re a climate scientist, what happens when your dire predictions start coming true? The ongoing anthrax outbreak in Siberia is offering us a preview: What was once considered a future theoretical possibility  --  a reanimated deadly bacterium emerging from the permafrost  -- is now a reality. Throughout July, temperatures in northern Siberia have soared as high as 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) during what’s typically the warmest part of the year. It’s unknown exactly how the disease emerged -- possibly via a thawed reindeer carcass or human remains at a crumbling, above-ground cemetery that’s typical of the region. Russia has sent troops trained for biological warfare to help establish a quarantine in what’s become the first anthrax outbreak in the region since 1941.

Quote:Whether they’re paying for hurricane cleanup or reimbursing farmers for lost livestock and crops, insurers foot much of the bill for disasters associated with climate change. The chart below shows just how big that bill can get; the cost of insured weather catastrophes has been soaring far faster than inflation. Just about every company in the property and casualty insurance business carefully tracks climate data these days (the data for the chart below, for example, comes from Swiss Re). But this year’s Fortune Change the World list recognizes one insurer that was far ahead of the pack: Germany’s Munich Re (#13). The company, which provides both reinsurance and primary coverage, first warned about planetary weather changes in 1973 and founded its Geo Risks Research Department a year later to study the subject. Now it’s a leader in insuring clean-fuel projects.