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Climate change is the great equalizer, yet it's the lives of the most vulnerable who are most affected

LA fire donation site
Maximilian Haupt/picture alliance via Getty Images

Los Angeles volunteers organize donations at the Venice Helping Hub. Since the outbreak of the fires in Los Angeles, the number of volunteers has skyrocketed.

Opinion: Mother Nature doesn’t care about where you live, what you do, and who you are, but it's still the most vulnerable that will face her wrath, writes John Casey.


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When I had the honor of working with scientists from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for three years, a few haunting observations stood out.

In North Carolina, scientists there told me that category 4-5 hurricanes along the East Coast would become the norm, as would flooding inland far from the coasts. They also said that tornadoes and thunderstorms would become super-charged. I don’t think I need to tell you that we know all too well that they were right.

In Florida, scientists said that epic hurricanes would form in the Gulf of Mexico. They also said Miami Beach would be underwater at some point. Last month, a new study by the University of Miami showed that not only were buildings sinking along Miami Beach as well as the coastal parts of Miami, Broward County, and Palm Beach.

Climate change? "It's probably a much larger problem than we know," Paul Chinowsky, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the Miami Herald.

In California, I vividly remember one scientist at Stanford University saying something to the effect that it wouldn't be earthquakes that destroyed California but severe droughts and historic fires.

When I was told these things around 10 years ago, the scientists said that all of these catastrophes would happen in about 30 years. Their prophecies came to fruition much sooner than anyone anticipated.

Some resource information for those affected by the LA fires:
For the most up-to-date information about evacuation zones and ongoing fires, visit LAFD and CAL FIRE.
For information about the status of LGBTQ+ community centers and events, visit the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
FEMAassistance is available for both homeowners and renters affected by the wildfires.
Transitional Shelter Assistance is available through FEMAat disasterassistance.gov.

But, no one wants to hear about climate change when these natural disasters strike, because lives are lost or ruined and changed forever. It is true that the only way you know the depths of suffering is to experience it. Those of us who have been untouched by a fire, hurricane or tornado, can only know about them by reading the news, watching the devastation on television, or seeing images on social media. Several dear friends of mine lost their homes in the fires. I can’t imagine what they are going through.

When a tornado touches down in Wilson County, Tenn., or Pontotoc County, Okla., or a hurricane lands at Perry, Fla., or floods devastate the Southern Appalachians, we shake our heads and think how awful, we send thoughts and prayers when warranted, if we know someone, and then we move on. These places are remote to us, and so are the people in communities off the beaten path, in small homes, trailer parks, and quiet neighborhoods.

We probably never heard of these towns, counties, and townships. And it’s so easy to only feel slightly nudged by the stories from those affected, because we have no idea who they are. Yes, we can send money or clothes, and we say a prayer.

And then the next tornado, flood, or hurricane hits, and we repeat.

I often lament the way pop culture has a vise grip on so many of us. It’s not something new. We are wondrous of the people in the public eye, the rich and famous, those who live in mansions, drive fancy cars, wear only the finest clothes. It’s not a coincidence that in the face of shrinking media and a bygone era of magazines, People magazine still sells like hotcakes. The number one publication that covers the lives of the stars outpaces the second most popular magazine by 2-1.

As the fires continue to roar in Los Angeles, and the media continues to cover the destruction, they are also keeping a tally of all the stars who have lost their homes, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mel Gibson, Jeff Bridges, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Milo Ventimiglia, and Billy Crystal, along with scores of others.

Yet,amid the media frenzy surrounding the wealthy elite, the stories of those most deeply affected by the disaster, the maids, gardeners, nannies, and other workers who sustain the lifestyles of the affluent have been largely overlooked. This omission is emblematic of how climate change disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, often relegating their struggles to the shadows.

While celebrities have the resources to rebuild or relocate, the workers who rely on these neighborhoods for their livelihoods face an entirely different reality. Many of these individuals are immigrants or people of color, living paycheck to paycheck. They clean the mansions, tend the gardens, and care for the children of the rich. Their work is both invisible and indispensable. When wildfires strike, they lose not only their jobs but also the fragile stability that allows them to survive in a city as expensive as Los Angeles.

For these workers, the fires mean weeks, even months, of unemployment. The wealthy may retreat to second homes or temporary accommodations, but the people who service those homes are left stranded, with no safety nets and often no legal protections. Many undocumented workers are particularly vulnerable, as they cannot access disaster relief or unemployment benefits. The very people who help rebuild the lives of the wealthy after disasters are themselves left with nowhere to turn.

These disparities highlight a brutal truth about climate change: It is not the great equalizer. Instead, it amplifies existing inequalities, placing the heaviest burdens on those who can least afford to bear them. Wildfires, intensified by a warming climate, are becoming a fixture of life in California.

And while they threaten everyone, they disproportionately harm those who live and work in precarious conditions. The gardeners who must clear ash-laden yards, the maids tasked with cleaning soot-filled homes, and the cooks who lose their jobs when their employers evacuate. These are the people whose stories are rarely told.

There is also our own community which is disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This vulnerability is not incidental; it is systemic. Discrimination, economic instability, and a lack of equitable access to resources leave many in our community without the safety nets needed to weather disasters.

In moments of crisis, those who live on the margins are the first to fall through the cracks. The queer youth who have no home to evacuate from, the trans elders who are isolated in their communities, and the same-sex couples whose love may be met with hostility in emergency shelters. They all face challenges that most of us never consider.

Addressing climate change requires more than cutting emissions; it demands a reckoning with the social inequities it exacerbates. If we continue to ignore the marginalized communities most affected by these disasters, we are not only failing to solve the climate crisis but also perpetuating a system in which the most vulnerable pay the highest price.

If these L.A. fires teach us anything, it’s that we are all connected. The smoke that darkens a billionaire’s beachfront mansion also suffocates the unhoused person under an overpass. The same rising seas that threaten Miami’s skyline will drown entire towns long before they crest over high-rise balconies. This is not just a crisis for the wealthy or the rural, the famous or the forgotten; it is a reckoning for all of us.

Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ and allied community. Visit advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.

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John Casey

John Casey is senior editor of The Advocate, writing columns about political, societal, and topical issues with leading newsmakers of the day. The columns include interviews with Sam Altman, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Colman Domingo, Jennifer Coolidge, Kelly Ripa and Mark Counselos, Jamie Lee Curtis, Shirley MacLaine, Nancy Pelosi, Tony Fauci, Leon Panetta, John Brennan, and many others. John spent 30 years working as a PR professional on Capitol Hill, Hollywood, the Nobel Prize-winning UN IPCC, and with four of the largest retailers in the U.S.
John Casey is senior editor of The Advocate, writing columns about political, societal, and topical issues with leading newsmakers of the day. The columns include interviews with Sam Altman, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Colman Domingo, Jennifer Coolidge, Kelly Ripa and Mark Counselos, Jamie Lee Curtis, Shirley MacLaine, Nancy Pelosi, Tony Fauci, Leon Panetta, John Brennan, and many others. John spent 30 years working as a PR professional on Capitol Hill, Hollywood, the Nobel Prize-winning UN IPCC, and with four of the largest retailers in the U.S.