Netusil plays an integral role in the Forum on Oregon Climate Economics (FORCE), a nonpartisan group of economists and policy experts.
By Bennett Campbell Ferguson
March 7, 2025
“Because of climate change, your groceries are costing more,” she says. “Because of climate change, your insurance costs are going up. But then there’s also the concern about people just being paralyzed—‘Well obviously, there’s nothing I can do about this.’”
Confronting paralyzing concern with practical hope is the purpose of the (FORCE), a nonpartisan group of economists and policy experts (funded partly by the Roger Worthington Fund for Environmental Economics that includes faculty that includes Netusil).
“Part of the goal was to show people that we are already paying for the effects of climate change,” Netusil. “It’s not something from the distant future. It’s already here.”
On Oct. 24, 2024, FORCE released its first report, “The Economic Costs of Climate Change for Oregonians: A First Look.” It contains shocking and sobering statistics, including that wildfire smoke costs Oregon households $450 per day.
“A lot of our homes are not well insulated,” Netusil says. “So when we have one of these events occur, it just puts a whole lot of people at risk. Homes are cheaper when you don’t have to have that kind of infrastructure.” She adds that extreme heat is particularly deadly for those who live without air conditioning or heat pumps, as evidenced by the devastating effects of the 2021 heat dome on lower-income neighborhoods like Lents.
After wildfires drowned Los Angeles in apocalyptic heat, even the most strident activist could be forgiven for succumbing to climate nihilism. Yet Netusil hasn’t given up—and neither has FORCE, which is working on a new series of reports.
“That’s part of what my interest is: to make people aware,” Netusil says. “That’s my motivation for being involved in this group: to continue trying to fill in those gaps that exist, specifically for Oregon.”
It’s a motivation that Netusil has passed onto her students, whose commitment to protecting the planet has filled her with an elusive feeling: optimism.
“They’re going out and doing tree planting, they’re doing restoration work,” she says. “If everybody does a little bit cumulatively, it can be impactful.”