'We've seen homeowners that are in real desperation:' 4 The Record examines landslides in Pittsburgh

INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE RECORD. STARTS NOW. WELCOME TO FOR THE RECORD, I’M JANELLE HALL. LANDSLIDES, CRUMBLING ROADS, AND SO MUCH MORE INDICATING THE GROUND IS SHIFTING BELOW MANY PITTSBURGH HOMES. TODAY WE HEAR THE STORY OF ONE OF THOSE HOMEOWNERS AND WE LEARN ABOUT THE POTENTIAL HELP THAT MAY SOON BE ON THE WAY, HE SHARES HIS STORY WITH OUR KRISTIN POWERS. FIRST, ZACK CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR HOME ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND WHEN YOU FIRST NOTICED THE ISSUE OF LANDSLIDES? YEAH. SO WHEN I WENT TO LOOK AT THE HOUSE WHEN I WAS FIRST LOOKING TO BUY IT, I NOTICED THE ROAD COMING TOWARD THE HOUSE WAS CRUMBLING. UM, SO IT WAS KIND OF ON MY MIND FROM THE GET GO WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT BUYING THE HOUSE. UH, WHAT I NOTICED WAS THERE WERE SOME, UM, LIKE, SPRAY PAINTED CONSTRUCTION LINES DATED ABOUT TWO MONTHS BEFORE. SO I THOUGHT, OKAY, THE CITY KNOWS ABOUT IT. IT’S SOMETHING WILL SOMETHING WILL WILL HAPPEN EVENTUALLY WITH THIS. SO I WENT AHEAD AND PURCHASED THE HOME. UM, TURNS OUT THOUGH, UH, OVER TIME, THERE WERE THERE WAS NO CHANGE. I DIDN’T HEAR ANY, UM, I DIDN’T HEAR ANY RUMBLINGS ABOUT CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING. FUNDS BEING ALLOCATED BY THE CITY, ANYTHING. SO IT BECAME A DAY TO DAY. WORRY THAT ONE DAY, THIS ROAD THAT I NEED TO DRIVE ON TO GET HOME AND TO WORK WOULD EVENTUALLY COLLAPSE. ZACK, CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH WHERE THIS IS ON YOUR HOUSE? JUST SORT OF SET THE SCENE FOR US. SURE. SO MY HOUSE IS AT THE END OF A CUL DE SAC, UM, ON A ONE LANE ROAD. THIS ONE LANE ROAD, ACTUALLY HAS OTHER HOUSES ALONG IT. SOME ARE ABANDONED, SOME I HAVE A NEIGHBOR. UM, BUT AFTER ALL THE HOUSES, IF YOU WERE GOING TO START FROM THE CUL DE SAC AND THEN MOVE OUT THERE, THE ROAD IS COLLAPSING AFTER ALL THE HOUSES. SO. SO IT’S NOT SO MUCH THAT THE ROAD NEAR MY HOUSE IS COLLAPSING, BUT MY ACCESS TO MY HOUSE IS DEPENDENT ON THIS ROAD EXISTING. WHAT DAY TO DAY ISSUES DO YOU EXPERIENCE? BECAUSE OF THIS? WELL, SO WHEN I FIRST MOVED IN, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO GET TRASH PICKUP BECAUSE THE GARBAGE TRUCKS WOULD NOT DRIVE DOWN THIS THIS TINY ROAD. UH, OVER TIME, WE FOUND A SOLUTION WHERE WE, WE, THE CITY WOULD SEND A SMALLER TRASH TRUCK TO PICK UP THE TRASH FROM THE HOUSES DOWN THERE. UM, BUT THAT TOOK A WHILE. AND SO IN THE INTERIM, IT WAS LIKE I HAD TO TAKE MY TRASH UP THE ROAD, WALK IT UP, OR, LIKE, DRIVE IT UP. AND THAT’S JUST DRIVING ON THE ROAD, REMINDING ME EVERY DAY THAT THIS ROAD MIGHT NOT EXIST TOMORROW. NOT A THING A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT, RIGHT? WITH THEIR HOME. UM, IT’S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU DO HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR HOME. TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT. AND WHEN IS THAT HAPPENING? YEAH. SO THE CITY CAME BY AT SOME POINT. I DON’T REMEMBER AT THIS POINT, MAYBE TWO YEARS AGO, TALKING ABOUT ABOUT THE MITIGATIONS THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT FOR HOUSES IN THE AREA. UH, THEY HAD MENTIONED THAT IT WOULD COST A LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO FIX THE ROAD. UH, BUT IT WOULD BE CHEAPER TO BUY OUT THE HOUSES FROM THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED ON THAT ROAD. SO THEY APPLIED FOR FEDERAL FEMA FUNDING TO BUY OUT THE HOUSES FROM THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE ON THAT ROAD. UH, AS OF NOW, THAT FUNDING HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED, UH, FEDERALLY. SO WE ARE STILL IN A LIMBO STATE RIGHT NOW WHERE I ONCE THE FUNDING IS, IS ALLOCATED, I WILL SELL MY HOUSE TO THE CITY. BUT AS OF NOW, I’M STILL LIVING THERE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HAVING TO DO THAT? WELL, I MEAN, IT’S DISAPPOINTING BECAUSE YOU YOU SPEND A LOT OF TIME LOOKING FOR A HOUSE AND THEN YOU FIND ONE YOU LIKE, UH, NATURALLY THERE’S GOING TO BE PROBLEMS IN ANY HOUSE YOU FIND, UM, BUT THINKING THAT ONE OF THESE PROBLEMS WOULD ACTUALLY CAUSE YOU TO HAVE TO SELL YOUR HOUSE IS DEFINITELY NOT IDEAL. HAS THIS OPENED YOUR EYES TO THE PROBLEMS THAT MANY HOMEOWNERS FACE IN PITTSBURGH BECAUSE OF LANDSLIDES? DEFINITELY, YES. UM, THE THE I KNEW THE RISK WAS THERE. LIKE BUYING A HOUSE ON A HILLSIDE THAT THAT’S GOING TO BE A RISK. UM, I DON’T THINK I APPRECIATED HOW MUCH OF A RISK IT WAS. UM, HOW HOW OFTEN MY DAY TO DAY, UM, INTERACTIONS WITH MY IMMEDIATE, LIKE, STREET AND ENVIRONMENT WERE GOING TO BE AFFECTED. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT LANDSLIDE INSURANCE? IS THIS SOMETHING YOU WOULD CONSIDER IN MAYBE THE NEXT HOUSE YOU END UP IN ALMOST CERTAINLY. YEAH. UM, KNOWING WHAT I KNOW AND THE RISKS THAT ARE INVOLVED NOW, I WOULD DEFINITELY BE CONSIDERING, UH, UH, INSURANCE OF THAT TYPE. YEAH. YOU’RE GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME SOON. YES. HOW IS THIS GOING TO CHANGE HOW YOU LOOK AT NEW HOMES AND YOU LOOK AT THE SURROUNDINGS? WELL, I’LL BE FRANK. I WOULD PROBABLY TRY TO FIND SOMETHING THAT’S NOT ON A HILLSIDE, WHICH IS VERY DIFFICULT IN THE PITTSBURGH AREA. UM, I WOULD SAY THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I’M LOOKING AT IS LIKE, WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE ROAD NEARBY? WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE LIKE? THE SUPPORTS ON THE ROADS NEARBY? UM, AND THE HOUSES THAT ARE ABOVE, BELOW, NEARBY, THAT TYPE OF THING? UM, YEAH. I’M GOING TO TAKE A LONGER LOOK AT WHAT THE STATE OF, LIKE, INFRASTRUCTURE IS AROUND THE WHOLE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE ACTION BEING DONE ON THIS? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? LOCAL OFFICIALS, STATE OFFICIALS DO WITH THIS ISSUE? I THINK FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, THE CITY AND LOCAL OFFICIALS ARE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN. UM, I KNOW THERE’S BEEN RECENT WORK ON OTHER ROADS NEAR ME THAT ARE LIKE GETTING, UM, MUCH NEEDED RENOVATIONS AND REPAIRS. UM, JUST SO HAPPENS THAT I’M ON A ROAD THAT IS LESS LESS POPULATED. SO THIS IS JUST MORE COST EFFECTIVE. AND I’M HAPPY THAT THE CITY IS LIKE TAKING ACTION AND TRYING TO HELP IN ANY WAY THEY CAN. LIVING IN YOUR CURRENT HOME, DOES THAT CAUSE ANXIETY OF THE UNKNOWN? YES. UH, GOING BACK TO THAT FIRST YEAR WHEN I WAS LIVING THERE, THE ANXIETY OF NOT KNOWING IF MY TRASH WAS GOING TO GET PICKED UP, IF I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE TO WORK, IF I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO, TO GET LIKE GROCERY DELIVERIES BECAUSE WE WERE IN COVID WHEN I FIRST MOVED IN, UM, THAT DAY TO DAY ANXIETY KIND OF DID WEAR ON ME OVER TIME THAT HAS ALLEVIATED. BUT YEAH, IT WAS IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT LIKE YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF. AND ZACH, WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THIS EXPERIENCE? MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAY WOULD BE TO DOUBLE CHECK. AND DON’T ASSUME THAT SPRAY PAINTED, UH, MARKINGS ON THE ROAD ARE INDICATIONS THAT WORK IS BEING DONE BECAUSE IT MIGHT NOT BE, UM, I GUESS TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT IS JUST PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO TO WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO BE LIVING AND I’D LIKE THE IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS THAT YOU ARE AROUND ARE. FOR THE RECORD, PRODUCERS REACHED OUT TO PITTSBURGH’S DEPARTMENT OF MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN UPDATE ON THE ROAD. ZACHARY LITTLEFIELD WAS TALKING WITH US ABOUT. THEY DID NOT GET BACK TO US IN TIME FOR THE TAPING OF THIS PROGRAM, BUT IF WE DO GET AN UPDATE, WE’LL BE SURE TO POST IT ON OUR WEBSITE. WE DOT COM UNDER THE FOR THE RECORD TAB. STILL AHEAD ON FOR THE RECORD, WILL YOU SEE THESE LANDSLIDES. IT DOESN’T JUST AFFECT THE INDIVIDUAL HOME OWNER. IT AFFECTS COMMUNITIES AND IT AFFECTS PEOPLE IN THE STATE. THE PUSH TO HELP HOMEOWNERS ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH BEFORE THE NEXT HOME IS LOST. AND DON’T FORGET IF YOU HAVE A TOPIC YOU’D LIKE FOR THE RECORD TO ADDRESS, SEND US AN EMAIL TO NEWS AT WTAE DOT COM. FOR THE RECORD RETURNS RIGHT AFTER THIS. WELCOME BACK TO FOR THE RECORD, HELPING HOMEOWNERS IN LANDSLIDE PRONE AREAS TO TWO STATE LAWMAKERS ARE NOW PUSHING FOR A BILL THAT WOULD EXPAND THE PROGRAM THAT GIVES HOMEOWNERS ACCESS TO FAIRLY PRICED LANDSLIDE AND SINKHOLE INSURANCE. I SAT DOWN WITH ONE OF THEM, STATE REPRESENTATIVE VALERIE GAYDOS, TO LEARN MORE. JOINING ME NOW IS STATE REPRESENTATIVE VALERIE GAYDOS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. SO WE’RE TALKING ABOUT LANDSLIDES AND THE DISTRICT THAT YOU REPRESENT FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN’T FAMILIAR, BASICALLY GOES FROM SEWICKLEY AROUND PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, AND PART OF WHICH, OF COURSE, INCLUDES MOON, WHERE WE SAW THAT MASSIVE LANDSLIDE RECENTLY. UM, BEFORE WE GET TO TALK ABOUT THE BILL THAT YOU’RE INTRODUCING, TELL ME FIRST WHAT YOU SAW THERE AND HOW THAT PLAYS INTO WHAT YOU HOPE TO HELP PUSH THROUGH THE STATE. SURE. WHAT WE’VE BEEN SEEING REGULARLY ARE LANDSLIDES THAT ARE ON ROADS, IN PRIVATE PROPERTY, PUBLIC PROPERTY, STREETS, HOUSES FALLING OFF OF OFF OF HILLS, THINGS LIKE THAT. AND WE’VE SEEN HOMEOWNERS THAT ARE IN REAL DESPERATION BECAUSE IT IS NOT COVERED BY YOUR REGULAR INSURANCE. I REMEMBER WE HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH YOU IN THAT BACKYARD IN MOON TOWNSHIP WHEN THAT WAS THE MAIN SOUNDBITE THAT YOU HAD, AND DO YOU THINK THAT SURPRISES A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT THERE IS NO INSURANCE TO COVER THIS KIND OF DAMAGE? SURE. I THINK I THINK IT IS. AND FLOODING IS SORT OF THE SAME WAY IS THAT THOSE ARE SPECIFIC RIDERS ON YOUR INSURANCE THAT YOU HAVE TO EITHER ADD NOW FLOODING IS YOU CAN ADD FLOODING, BUT LANDSLIDES AND EARTHQUAKES AND A LOT OF HURRICANES ARE NOT COVERED BY YOUR REGULAR INSURANCE. AND IT’S EVEN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO EVEN GET IT. EVEN IF YOU CAN. SO WHAT PUSHED YOU TO TO PUSH FOR THIS CHANGE IN IN THE LAW AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU HOPE TO TO DO WITH THIS? SURE. WILL YOU SEE THESE LANDSLIDES AS IT DOESN’T JUST AFFECT THAT INDIVIDUAL HOMEOWNER, IT AFFECTS COMMUNITIES AND IT AFFECTS PEOPLE IN THE STATE. SO WHEN A LANDSLIDE GOES DOWN ACROSS A ROAD AND THOSE ARE ROADS IN MUNICIPALITIES, BOROUGHS, TOWNSHIPS THAT PEOPLE RELY ON TO GET TO WORK. SO WHEN YOU SEE A LANDSLIDE AND YOU SEE A CLOSURE, IT MAY TAKE PEOPLE ANOTHER 40 MINUTES WHEN IT COULD TAKE THEM ONLY TEN MINUTES NORMALLY TO GET TO WORK. AND THAT REALLY DISRUPTS OUR COMMUNITY TIES, OUR LIVES AND OUR ECONOMY. AND IT’S DEVASTATING FOR THESE HOMEOWNERS. I MEAN, TALK ABOUT YOU WERE IN THAT BACKYARD OF OF MOON, THAT MOON TOWNSHIP FAMILY WALK US THROUGH WHAT THEY’RE GOING THROUGH AT AND THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF THAT LANDSLIDE IN THAT COMMUNITY. SURE. WELL, THE THE IT’S ON STAG STAGS LEAP LANE IN MOON TOWNSHIP AND HALF OF THEIR BACKYARD JUST WENT RIGHT DOWN THE HILL, RIGHT OVER A MAIN COMMUTING ROAD THAT PEOPLE ARE USED TO COMMUTING. AND IN ONE INSTANCE, THE GENTLEMAN HAD JUST PURCHASED THE HOME. HE’S HERE ON AN H-1B VISA FROM WORKING IN THE TECH COMMUNITY. HE WORKS FROM HOME. AND HE WAS THEN SUDDENLY TOLD THAT HE HAD TO EVACUATE HIS HOME. AND NOW HE’S GOT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO. THE LANDSLIDE. AND HE DOES NOT HAVE LANDSLIDE INSURANCE BECAUSE IT DOESN’T EXIST. AND HE’S NOW HAS TO FIND A HOME WHILE HE’S STILL PAYING FOR A MORTGAGE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING A MORTGAGE. SO WHAT WHAT SPECIFICALLY WOULD THIS BILL DO? WHAT THIS BILL DOES IS IT PROVIDES WHAT’S CALLED THE LANDSLIDE INSURANCE FUND. AND IT IS WE’RE TRYING TO MAKE IT WITHIN SOMETHING THAT ALREADY EXISTS CALLED THE MINE SUBSIDENCE FUND. SO THERE IS A MECHANISM, UM, THAT OUR STATE HAD DETERMINED ALMOST 50 YEARS AGO THAT WHEN THERE IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS THAT HAPPENS THAT BIG AND AFFECTS THE COMMUNITY, THAT’S REALLY WHERE THE STATE NEEDS TO STEP IN AND AND HELP. AGAIN, NOT ONLY HOMEOWNERS BUT COMMUNITIES AND GET GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK. SO WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS MINE SUBSIDENCE IS SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ALREADY PAY FOR. BUT RIGHT NOW THAT DOESN’T COVER LANDSLIDES. BUT YOU HOPE THAT THAT WILL HELP CHANGE. THAT’S CORRECT. IT DOES NOT COVER IT. BUT WE’D LIKE TO HAVE SOMETHING WITHIN DEP. THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, TO MANAGE THIS POOL OF MONEY WHERE HOMEOWNERS OR MUNICIPALITIES CAN HAVE AT LEAST HAVE SOME OF SOME OF THEIR COST ALLEVIATED SO THEY CAN GET LOW INTEREST LOANS OR EVEN HAVE MUNICIPALITIES HAVE THESE ROADS FIXED AT A LOWER COST. AND I UNDERSTAND YOU’VE REACHED ACROSS PARTY LINES TO COME TOGETHER WITH THIS. WHERE DOES IT STAND AND WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF THIS PASSING? ABSOLUTELY BY MY COLLEAGUE, REPRESENTATIVE EMILY KINCAID, AND I TEAMED UP. SHE’S A DEMOCRAT. I’M A REPUBLICAN, AND WE ARE TRYING TO DO THINGS THAT HELP PEOPLE AND WORK TOGETHER. IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE BOTH BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON. AND RIGHT NOW, THE BILL IS WAITING TO BE ASSIGNED TO A COMMITTEE. ACTUALLY, IT’S THE THE BILL AS IT IS, IS IN THE THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE. AND WE’RE GETTING A LITTLE BIT OF PUSHBACK FROM DEP BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT IT WITHIN THAT FUND. WE DON’T COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHY BECAUSE WE’RE NOT GETTING FEEDBACK. I HAVE TO SAY, MY COLLEAGUE EMILY KINCAID HAS BEEN ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO WHENEVER YOU SEE A LANDSLIDE OR THOSE ISSUES GO TO THE DEP FACEBOOK PAGE AND POST YOUR PICTURE OF A LANDSLIDE THEY NEED TO SEE AND THE GOVERNOR NEEDS TO SEE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL WANT FIXED. THIS AFFECTS INDIVIDUALS. IT AFFECTS OUR ECONOMY. IT AFFECTS OUR COMMUNITY. AND WE WANT TO TELL THE GOVERNOR THAT WE NEED TO DO THIS RIGHT AWAY. FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY WONDER HOW MUCH MIGHT THIS COST THE TAXPAYERS, WHAT WOULD YOU WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THAT? WELL, WE’RE LOOKING TO HAVE THE HAVE THE HAVE A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS PUT INTO THE FUND. LIKE I SAID, IT’S NOT UH, IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO TOTALLY MAKE HOMEOWNERS WHOLE. WE JUST WANT TO HELP ALLEVIATE GET THESE PEOPLE BACK ON THEIR FEET, GET THE MUNICIPALITIES SOME MONEY THAT THEY’RE ABLE TO FIX THESE LANDSLIDES. AND, UH, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, HELP, HELP AT LEAST MOVE FORWARD ON ON ALLEVIATING THESE PROBLEMS. DOES IT SEEM THAT LANDSLIDES HAVE BECOME MORE PREVALENT IN RECENT YEARS? AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR ROADS AND, UH, AND BRIDGES WERE BUILT 50, 100 YEARS AGO. SO SOME OF IT IS JUST THE TEST OF TIME THAT WE HAVE ALSO HEAVIER TRUCKS AND VEHICLES THAT ARE RIDING ON THESE, THESE ROADS. THAT ALSO ADDS TO THE WEAR AND TEAR. BUT ALSO WE’VE HAD HIGHER AMOUNTS OF RAINFALL AND UH, AND WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION, NEW DEVELOPMENT. OUR CITY’S GROWING. SO WHEN YOU SEE A LOT MORE IMPERVIOUS SURFACES, THAT WATER HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE AND SOMETIMES IT GETS CHANNELED INTO AREAS THAT WE DON’T WANT IT TO, WE’LL BE SURE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU TO SEE IF AND WHEN THIS BILL PASSES. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU. STILL AHEAD, ONE OF THE KEYS TO TRIGGERING LANDSLIDE ODDS IS GETTING WATER DOWN INTO THOSE EARTH MATERIALS. THE LINK BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND LANDSLIDES. WHAT ONE EXPERT SAYS NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO TURN THE TIDE. WELCOME BACK TO, FOR THE RECORD, AS WE FOLLOW LANDSLIDES AND WHAT COULD HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, WE LOOK AT CLIMATE CHANGE TO SEE HOW THAT’S A FACTOR IN ALL OF THIS. OUR SHANNON PERRINE SAT DOWN WITH DOCTOR PHIL REEDER FROM DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. TAKE A LISTEN. AN INTERESTING STATISTIC IS THE FACT THAT WE’RE GOING TO INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION. ANOTHER ONE IS THE TEMPERATURE. 1990 IS OFTEN USED AS A BENCHMARK FOR LOOKING AT CLIMATE CHANGE DATA, BECAUSE THAT’S REALLY BEFORE POPULATION REALLY STARTED TO BOOM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ACROSS THE WORLD. IN 1990, PITTSBURGH ON AVERAGE HAD SEVEN DAYS PER YEAR ABOVE 90 DEGREES. BY 2050, IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE 42 DAYS ABOVE 90 DEGREES. IN PITTSBURGH. AND THAT IMPACTS LANDSLIDES THAT WILL IMPACT LANDSLIDES BECAUSE IT’S GOING TO IMPACT CLIMATE AND PRECIPITATION BY BEING WARMER, MORE CONVECTIVE STORMS, HEAVIER THUNDERSTORM FORMS, MORE INTENSE RAINFALL AND AGAIN, ONE OF THE KEYS TO TRIGGERING LANDSLIDES IS GETTING WATER DOWN INTO THOSE EARTH MATERIALS. FOR THOSE OTHER THINGS TO HAPPEN. SO I DON’T OWN A STEEL MILL THAT USES COKE OVENS. I DON’T OWN A CEMENT FACTORY. I DON’T OWN A POWER PLANT. WHAT CAN I DO TO TO IMPACT LANDSLIDES SPECIFICALLY? IS THERE ANYTHING INDIVIDUALS CAN DO TO IMPACT LANDSLIDES? YEAH, I THINK BECAUSE OF THE TRIGGER OR BECAUSE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND LANDSLIDES, CITIZENS HAVE TO ACT RESPONSIBLY IN TERMS OF, FOR EXAMPLE, RECYCLING AND IN TERMS OF USING MASS TRANSIT OR SMARTER TRANSPORTATION TO TRY TO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF CARBON DIOXIDE. OTHER GREENHOUSE GASES IN OUR ENVIRONMENT, TO SORT OF REIN THINGS BACK IN AGAIN AND TO CHANGE THE CLIMATE, NOT FOR THE WORSE, SORT OF THE DIRECTION WE’RE HEADING IN NOW, BUT FOR THE BETTER. AGAIN, BY DECREASING THE AMOUNT OF WARM DAYS, DECREASING AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION AND THEN WE’RE NOT GOING TO DECREASE THE AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION TO THE POINT THAT WE’RE GOING TO GO THROUGH MAJOR DROUGHTS OR ANYTHING. BUT THE EARTH LOVES TO BE IN EQUILIBRIUM, AND IT LOVES TO BALANCE THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT’S COMING IN FROM THE SUN AND DRIVING ALL THE PROCESSES ON EARTH. AND WE’RE KIND OF OUT OF EQUILIBRIUM RIGHT NOW, BUT IT CAN GO BACK INTO EQUILIBRIUM BY WIJT MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES GOING TO MORE RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY THAN NONRENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY WITHIN THE LONG TERM, THEN CHANGING THE CLIMATE. MAYBE NOT FOR US IN OUR LIFETIME, CHANGING IT BACK FOR THE GOOD, BUT FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FOR OUR GRANDCHILDREN. IF HUMANS CAN HURT THE PLANET, THEY CAN HELP THE PLANET TOO. MOST DEFINITELY. YEAH. I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE GLOBAL POPULATION, GLOBAL POPULATION IS ABOUT 9 BILLION RIGHT NOW. IS IT UP TO NINE? YEAH, WE’RE VERY CLOSE TO 9 BILLION. AND THERE’S TWO COUNTRIES WITH OVER A BILLION PEOPLE, CHINA AND INDIA NOW. AND YOU KNOW, THE UNITED STATES, IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE STATISTICS, WE WE ARE AT THE TOP OF MOST LISTS FOR HOW UNWISELY WE USE OUR RESOURCES. AND WE USE MORE RESOURCES THAN PRETTY MUCH ANY PLACE ELSE IN THE WORLD. SO, YOU KNOW, THE TRENDS THAT WE’RE SEEING NOW TOWARDS RENEWABLE SOURCES, WIND POWER, SOLAR POWER, ALL OF THOSE THINGS COULD CAUSE CHANGE IN THE CLIMATE FOR THE BETTER AND IMPACT. AND WE COULD HAVE FEWER LANDSLIDES FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. EXACTLY. BECAUSE, AGAIN, A LOT OF IT IS CLIMATE DEPENDENT. A LOT OF IT IS DEPENDENT ON WATER AND GETTING WATER DOWN INTO THOSE MATERIALS. BUT THEN ALSO WE CAN USE WISER BUILDING PRACTICES. WE CAN BE MORE THOUGHTFUL IN TERMS OF WHERE WE SITE SUBDIVISIONS, WHERE WE DO NEW BUILDING, UM, REMOVING FORESTS. YOU KNOW, FORESTS IS A BIG PART OF CLIMATE CHANGE BECAUSE FORESTS TAKE IN CARBON DIOXIDE AND GIVE OFF OXYGEN. TREES DO SO. IT HELPS WITH THE BALANCE OF THE GASES IN OUR ATMOSPHERE. BUT THEN TREES ALSO DRAW IN WATER THROUGH THEIR ROOTS AS PART OF THEIR LIFE PROCESSES. SO IF ONE OF THE TRIGGERS IS WATER, THEN THEN THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE MORE TREES TO DRAW THAT WATER IN, THEN IT’S NOT GOING TO CAUSE THESE OTHER PROBLEMS OF INTERACTING WITH THE PITTSBURGH RED BEDS GETTING SLIPPERY AND THEN CREATING THESE PRESSURES DOWN IN THERE AS WELL, WHICH IS GOING TO CAUSE THE LAND TO MOVE. YOU’RE WATCHING, FOR THE RECORD, A LOOK AT WHAT’S AHEAD NEXT WEEK IS COMING UP RIGHT AFTER THIS. WELCOME BACK. NEXT WEEK FOR THE RECORD, TAKES A LOOK AT ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH AND THE PEOPLE WHO HELP TAKE CARE OF THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE DISEASE. AND IT DIDN’T REALLY HIT ME UNTIL MY SISTER WAS DIAGNOSED IN HER LATE 40S, MID TO LATE 40S. THAT’S YOUNG. IT’S VERY YOUNG. EARLY ONSET IS WHAT THEY CALLED IT. UM, THE JOURNEY, AS I SAID, HAS BEEN LONG. UM, YOU START TO THINK, DID I MISS SOMETHING? WAS THERE SOMETHING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE? ARE MICHELLE RIGHT? GOES IN DEPTH ON THIS ISSUE AFFECTING SO MANY PITTSBURGH FAMILIES NEXT SUNDAY MORNING. AT 11:30 A.M. THAT’S NEXT WEEK ON FOR THE RECORD. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US THIS MORNING. AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN ALWAYS REWATCH THIS EPISODE OR ANY EPISODE WITH THE VERY LOCAL APP ON YOUR SMARTPHONE, TABLET OR SMART TV. I’M JANELLE HALL, HAVE A GOOD WEEK.