Al Gore’s, An Inconvenient Truth and Real Estate Investors
Have you seen Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth? (or read his book?)
If not, you should do so and think about it carefully (in my opinion).
The whole issue of climate change, permaculture and sustainable living has been of interest to me for many years now. When we lived in Sydney we were crazy enough to grow corn and tomatoes on our front lawn. We applied to the council to install grey water recycling and rainwater tanks only to be given a definite no.
Nowadays it is manadatory to instal rainwater tanks with each new development.
I guess we were just years ahead of our time. 
Anyway, what has climate change got to do with real estate investors?
EVERYTHING!
One aspect of climate change is that sea levels are expected to rise as the polar ice caps and glaciers continue to melt at a rapid rate.
At the moment waterfront property is considered to be more desirable and valuable than land which is futher back.
Do you think this will still be the case when sea levels rise?
Some communities are running out of drinking water and there is no water to keep the gardens looking good.
How do you think this will affect property values and the desirability of these areas for tenants?
There are predictions in Australia that we do not have sufficient electricity generation capacity for the future and that we cannot build new plants quickly enough because we can’t agree on the type of power to produce.
How do you think this will affect real estate in certain areas?
Would properties which use less electricity or even produce their own, be more valuable than thise which do not?
They are many more questions to ask yourself as a property investor when it comes to the impact of climate change.
Many people argue that climate change is a natural occurence and that we don’t need to do anything about it. I strongly disagree and think these people are in denial.
Because I live on a farm I carefully observe the effect of the weather on a daily basis and can assure you that we are in for some tough time unless we make some changes NOW.
Watch Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth as soon as you can (it’s now out on DVD too) and learn more about climate change. Look at your lifestyle and think about how you can live and work more sustainably. Think carefully about what we might need to do differently as property investors in order to prosper during these changing times.
Warm Regards,
Hans Jakobi - Australia's Wealth Coach