Wrong way to move

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Gob
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Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:40 am

Wrong way to move

Post by Gob »

Science has provided America with a decent idea of which areas of our country will be most devastated by climate change, and which areas will be most insulated from the worst effects.

Unfortunately, it seems that US population flows are going in the wrong direction – new census data shows a nation moving out of the safer areas and into some of the most dangerous places of all.

To quote Planes, Trains and Automobiles: we’re going the wrong way.

The Census Bureau’s new map of the last decade’s population trends shows big growth in the west and on the coasts – and declines in the inland east coast and Great Lakes region.

Now compare that map to ProPublica maps documenting the areas most at risk of extreme heat, wildfires and flooding, and you see the problem. While there has been some recent anecdotal evidence of pragmatic climate migration, overall the census data shows America’s population growth is shifting out of areas that may be the best refuges from the most extreme effects of climate change, and into many areas that are most at risk.

Put another way: if climate change were an enemy in a war, America is not fortifying our population in the safest places – the country’s population is moving into the areas most at risk of attack.

Some of the examples are genuinely mind-boggling. For instance, upstate New York is considered one of the country’s most insulated regions in the climate crisis – and yet almost all of upstate New York saw population either nearly flat or declining. At the same time, there were big population increases in and around the Texas Gulf coast, which is threatened by extreme heat and coastal flooding.

Similarly, Philadelphia is comparatively well situated in the climate crisis – but it saw only modest population growth of 5%. It was surpassed on the list of biggest cities by Phoenix, which saw an 11% population growth, despite that city facing some of the worst forms of extreme heat and drought in the entire country.

And then there is south Florida, which saw Miami clock in a 10% population increase despite the possibility that large swaths of the city could soon be underwater. Compare that to a place like Vermont, where the population growth was flat.

This isn’t to blame Americans for moving to climate-threatened regions – after all, population growth and decline is often driven by the quest for necessities such as affordable housing and jobs. But the census data illustrate a trend that has been exacerbated by public policy.


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“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

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Crackpot
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Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:59 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Wrong way to move

Post by Crackpot »

To be fair the population in the Great Lakes region also aren’t safe from climate change as the recent increase in rain has shown.
Okay... There's all kinds of things wrong with what you just said.

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Long Run
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Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:47 pm

Re: Wrong way to move

Post by Long Run »

What this reveals is that most people, on a nearly bipartisan basis, do not believe global warming will have serious consequences (to the extent they believe there is global warming). Guess we all preferred The Cat in the Hat to The King's Stilts.

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Sue U
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Location: Eastern Megalopolis, North America (Midtown)

Re: Wrong way to move

Post by Sue U »

Long Run wrote:
Mon Aug 16, 2021 1:34 pm
What this reveals is that most people, on a nearly bipartisan basis, do not believe global warming will have serious consequences (to the extent they believe there is global warming).
The most severe consequences of climate change wont happen in our lifetimes, but in our children's and grandchildren's, so it's no surprise that the immediate concerns of economic opportunity and cost of living have outweighed the potential for some future inconvenience in influencing where people have moved over the past 10 years -- particularly since during the entirety of that decade Republican officeholders and right-wing media have been screaming that climate change is a hoax. And although I have been often tempted, I have now crossed off New Orleans, Charleston and anywhere in Florida from my retirement list, specifically because of climate change.
Similarly, Philadelphia is comparatively well situated in the climate crisis
Most likely, I will instead move back across the river to Philly and just put up with whatever weather the winters will bring. I can take it.
GAH!

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Crackpot
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Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:59 am
Location: Michigan

Re: Wrong way to move

Post by Crackpot »

I think we will be unpleasantly surprised with how quick we will have to deal with the effects of climate change considering our aging infrastructure. The unusual heavy rains we’ve gotten this year has caused severe flooding in places that usually aren’t considered flood risks. We’ve hit capacity and failures due to age have spelled disaster.
Okay... There's all kinds of things wrong with what you just said.

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