Lots of us buy insurance for our homes, after all they are very expensive to replace. But what are the chances that during our lifetime our houses will burn down or be otherwise destroyed?

Pretty slim.

We pay quite stiff premiums to protect our homes from disasters even though the odds are stacked against them happening. If the odds were in favor that something *would* happen to our house; the premiums would be sky high or insurance simply wouldn't be available.

This is one of the things that gets me about the way some view climate change.

I think there's enough evidence around now to say there's more chance of severe weather disturbances happening than not - odds much higher than your house burning down for example.

Even so, many of us aren't prepared to pay more for goods and services that add to emissions in the form of a carbon tax, or more for other goods and services that are pricier because they don't add to our greenhouse gas or general environmental woes.

The other thing to think about - climate change can bring about more severe weather and related phenomena such as cyclones, hurricanes and fires; and those are the things that we pay for insurance to reimburse us for any damage should they happen. If more severe weather should start happening more frequently, and it certainly appears to be - it's a sure bet those premiums will rise dramatically.

It's a little like the ounce of prevention vs. the pound of cure. Either way, we're still all going to pay for climate change and I'd rather see my cash funneled into preventing it rather than dealing with the outcome.