One of the Better Books on Climate Migration

Abraham Lustgarten has written an insightful book on climate migration, On The Move, The Overheating Earth And the Uprooting of America. Not surprising given that Lustgarten is a reporter on Climate Migration for ProPublica and the New York Times.

As someone that has been passionate about Climate Migration for years Lustgarten points out changes and raises issues I had not thought of. For example, rising heat will lead to increased suicides, thefts  and assaults.

The book has a social justice bent pointing out that rising temperatures will drive demand for energy which will balloon utility costs in some of the poorest regions of the country. It cites a report that Climate Change will also disproportionately hurt poorer communities that were hurt by redlining decades ago; with things like a "heat island effect" that can  spike temperatures  22°F more because of increased concrete and asphalt surfaces , and buildings and a lack of green space.

Increasing temperatures will increase pollens and allergens and lead to rise of vector-borne diseases and pandemics.

Follow the Water

Water scarcity may be the key determinant in leading to Climate Migration as more of America becomes parched. A research study in Mexico found the key variable in driving migration was the greater the drought the greater the out migration. 

Many areas of the country are at risk of losing their source of water. Arizona has published reports saying that by 2035 it will run out of water as the Colorado River dries up. The Ogallala aquifer in America heartland is down 150 feet. The Water Resources Institute that monitors water believes competition for water will be two to three times greater by the mid-century. Noting,

Extreme water stress--a characterization normally reserved for countries close to the equator--will plunge much of the land west of the Missouri Rive, roughly where the 100 th meridian divides the verdant East from the arid Great Plains, by 2040...

Adding that speculators are hoarding water. Yuk!

As temperatures rise  farming will require more water putting more stress on the demand for water.

Nuanced Migration

Lustgarten provides a more nuanced perspective on Climate Migration. People are not going to whole sale beginning moving. And if they move they may  not necessarily all move to America's north. People in rural southern areas may initially move to large metro areas like Atlanta.

However the north will experience a population rise, as well as the economic benefits.

The poor in the South may stay be stuck in the South and we may create islands of the wealthy.

All in all, On the Move is interesting, thought-provoking and worth a read.

Texas is Sweltering--More Signs Climate Migration is Accelerating

Parts of Texas are searing with temps above 110°F; Abilene hit 113°F yesterday. Demand for electricity is at record levels--driving up utility bills. This will push climate migration north.

What will also contribute to climate migration north is the unraveling of support staff, or workers, that make every day life possible. High temperatures make working outside during the summer nearly impossible.

Heat wave casualties are increasingly showing up in  Texas and other locales. A UPS driver in north Texas passed out because of heat a few days ago and crashed his truck. Nearly 40 deaths in Dallas County this summer are being investigated as heat-related, according to the medical examiner. Climate change is increasingly putting a hurt on Americas south.

To learn more read my article on, Climate Migration

I have been posting on climate migration for years and will continue to do so.

Climate Migration, , Bloomberg Says Housing Crisis in Warm Climates is getting Worse

The insurance crisis in climate stricken areas is getting worse and will ultimately affect all of us--the only question is how and the severity. People cannot get homeowners insurance in places like Florida, California, Texas... States may extend themselves by offering cheap homeowners insurance to residents, only to face a huge financial crisis should a major weather event (hurricane, fire...) occur--which is highly likely. Then turn to the Feds. I have been writing about how climate change and rising costs for insurance, help.. will force climate migration north. 

I had written an article  for the March/April issue  Life In the Finger Lakes on how people will begin to leave southern climes in favor of the north. Climate Migration--Is A Change in Store For the Finger Lakes?  It was a followup to a blog post I did for them five years earlier.

I have several posts on Climate Migration

Today on Amanpour and company, a Bloomberg reporter talked about the depth of the crisis and how it is spreading. Link below.

Things are getting very serious and we are in the early stages of what will become the new normal--AND IT IS ONLY GOING TO ACCELERATE!

Climate Migration

The following is from the March/April issue of Life in the Finger Lakes.

Climate Migration

Is A Change in Store For the Finger Lakes?

I don’t think many of us were surprised to learn that 2023 was the hottest year on record for the eighth year in a row. Or that we recorded the highest ocean temperature ever last year. What did surprise many of us were the Canadian wildfires last summer that filled our air with smoke for weeks. Clearly climate change is beginning to affect us in unimaginable ways.

How are we in the Finger Lakes going to be affected?

Like most places, our temperatures will rise, weather patterns will become more erratic and there will be a decrease in the biodiversity of flora and fauna.

The biggest change may be a large influx of climate migrants looking to escape stifling heat and flooded coastal areas. For them, the Finger Lakes Region is a climate haven.

Five years ago, I wrote a piece for Life in the Finger Lakes, “Is Population Growth Coming to Upstate New York?” The article predicted a rise in our population from an inflow of climate migrants. So far there continues to be a net outflow of residents from New York State. However, prognosticators and national media have since begun to tout our area as a climate haven.

In his book How to Prepare for Climate Change, CBS correspondent Daniel Pogue recommends moving to cities along the Great Lakes such as Buffalo. “Cold, snowy Syracuse and Buffalo could be shelters from the storms,” Pogue said in an interview. He added, “Florida and Arizona are the worse places for you to retire.” Several other organizations believe the Great Lakes Region will be a climate haven, such as Wisconsin Public Radio, Crains Detroit, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and NOAA.

Gaia Vince, in her book Nomad Century, How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World, feels the Great Lakes Region in the USA and Canada are climate havens that will see a “huge influx of residents … as the vast bodies of water should keep the temperature fairly temperate.” Believing the 45° N parallel (the very northern tip of NYS) and above will become the 21 century’s “booming haven.”

We need only look to our neighbor to the north of Lake Ontario to see how large inflows of immigrants can flood an area and change its complexion. It seems like there is one housing development after another from Niagara Falls to well on the other side of Toronto, approaching the Thousand Islands. In 2021 Toronto was ranked the 21st most congested city in North America; it spiked to being third in 2022. If we act now this does not need to be our fate.

The case for the Finger Lakes as a climate refuge is compelling. Our temperature is more moderate and we have an abundance of water, both from the Finger Lakes and our proximity to the Great Lakes. There are several factors that are creating climate migrants and drawing them to our area. First, life is becoming increasingly challenging in the south. Second, support networks sustaining hot areas are beginning to fray. Thirdly, the pool of northern havens is not as large as believed.

Climates are not friendly in the South and West

Consider some of last summer’s heat records. Miami, FL; Austin, TX and Phoenix, AZ each had several weeks of temperatures at 100 degrees or more. July was the hottest month on record.

A study by the First Street Foundation in 2022 predicted that the heat index will reach 125 degrees, what it calls “Extreme Danger,” at least once per year within the next 30 years in most Texas counties. As for the rest of the country, it said that 8 million residents in the U.S. experienced Extreme Danger Days in 2022; by 2053, that number will reach 107 million.

Rising temperatures will encourage people to move to cooler climates.

The National Ocean Service predicts that sea levels could rise by as much as a foot by 2050, overwhelming coastal areas. Large swaths of Florida and Louisiana will be below annual flood levels.

Additionally, rising sea levels will pollute fresh water estuaries close to the coast with salt, ruining the source of drinking water for many coastal areas. Then there is the surge of wildfires and the resulting smoke. Last year the UN forecast that wildfires will increase by 50 percent by 2100, and they will be more intense. Higher temperatures will provide more fuel for hurricanes and tornadoes, increasing their intensity, season length and most likely their frequency. All of which will disproportionately affect areas already hard hit by climate change.

 

Support networks are beginning to fray

Climate change is putting pressure on support networks that make home ownership possible in climate-stricken areas.

Consider homeowners insurance. Farmers just joined about a dozen other insurance companies that will no longer underwrite homeowners insurance in Florida. The average cost for insuring a home in Florida jumped 42 percent to $4,200 in 2023, compared to $1,800 the national average. Allstate and State Farm are no longer underwriting homes in Texas and California. Similarly, insurers are leaving Arizona and Louisiana.

Eric Andersen, head of AON, the largest reinsurer (reinsurers help insurers absorb catastrophic losses), testified before the Senate in March 2023. He said there has been

a crisis of confidence in predicting losses, particularly for wildfires and floods. Comparing the current state of underwriting risk to the financial crisis of 2008, Anderson stated “Just as the U.S. economy was overexposed to mortgage risk in 2008, the economy today is over-exposed to climate risk.”

Rising temperatures in the South is making it unsafe to work outside during heatwaves. OSHA recommends extra precautions be taken when temperatures reach 95 degrees. This will reduce when workers can work, and possibly the pool of workers, and raise the cost of home repairs.

Diminishing support networks will add to the climate induced pressure to have people move.

Climate haven locations are nuanced

Finding a climate haven is more than just moving  north. Changing weather patterns and other factors may alter perceptions of where a safe area is located. The Pacific Northwest’s 2021 heat dome, earlier departure of snowpack and infestation of pine beetles (which increase the chance of wildfires) showed it might not be the climate havenmany of us thought.

Last summer, New England saw heavy rainfall that led to flooding.The southern tier in New York is the most flood prone area in the state and has been flooded on several occasions. By 2100, New York City could experience a sea rise of 5 feet, give or take a foot. In August 2014, Toledo, OH faced a water crisis due to algae blooms in Lake Erie.

The good news is that we have time. People continue to leave New York. Surprisingly some of the states experiencing the highest inflow of new residents are also the most vulnerable states to climate change, such as Florida and Texas.

Preserve and protect the earth

Vince believes the world can handle the coming surge of climate migrants. In her book she points out that if we allow 20 square meters of space per person – more than double English planning regulations– 11 billion people would need 220,000 square kilometers. No doubt Vince has compassion for people and the environment, but her perspective is about how we can save ourselves, not how we can save our environment. I would argue that if we instead focus on how we can save the earth, we will in the process save ourselves.

The coming inflow of climate migrates provides an opportunity to help us focus on climate change, do something about it and attract resources.

We should try to protect and preserve as much land as possible. Fortunately, the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has been doing so for years, as have the Central New York Land Trust and the Ontario Land Trust whose mandate includes a few areas in the Finger Lakes. Besides acquiring property, their use of conservation easements prevents the development of the land they have underwritten – meaning large swaths of land cannot be developed.

The more land we can lock up and protect from development, the more of our identity we can keep and the less we will look like one massive suburb.

President Biden signed an executive order when he took office that looks to preserve 30 percent of America’s land and water by 2030. Likewise, Governor Hochul signed legislation December 2021 to preserve 30 percent of NY’s water and land by 2030. The state will rely on a variety of measures to secure its ambitious goals from land purchases, to offering grants and encouraging conservation easements.

It will be a challenge to preserve 30 percent of the Finger Lakes by 2030. Max Heitner of the FLLT believes that the current amount of land preserved in the Finger Lakes as a percentage is in the low teens.

The state is beginning to prepare for the inflow of climate migrants. OnMarch 29, 2023 Senator Rachel May (whose district includes part of the Finger Lakes) introduced Senate Bill S6106, the Climate Relocation Planning and Preparation Act, to the finance committee. This is a start. But more needs to be done.

Businesses will also look to move to the Finger Lakes. Politicians need to realize we are a climate haven and not give them all sorts of tax breaks. Instead, they need to start thinking like Tom Sawyer who got his classmates to pay him for the privilege of painting a fence.

Fortunately, the inflow of climate migrants has yet to begin in earnest, so we have time to prepare. I expect very shortly we will see large pools of money looking to invest in our area; possibly even competing with land trusts for property.

Please donate to, or volunteer for, one of our land trusts. If you are a landowner, consider signing a conservation easement.

Madis Senner is an author who lives in Syracuse. You can read his musings at motherearthprayers. blogspot.com. His latest book is Everything Has Karma: Learning to Embrace Our Interconnectedness.

Climate Migration

As I wrote a year ago  Climate Migration(Climate Change is Driving Migration North), people moving north to escape the heat, will be a dominate force in years to come. The NY Times has an article on this in their magazine, 
THE GREAT CLIMATE MIGRATION

By 2070, the extremely hot zones that now cover less than 1 percent of the Earth’s land surface — like the Sahara — could cover almost 20 percent. Water sources would vanish. Farms would go barren. And hundreds of millions of people would be forced to choose between flight or death.

The Times Magazine and ProPublica have modeled what that migration could look like. “Northern nations can relieve pressures on the fastest-warming countries by allowing more migrants to move north across their borders, or they can seal themselves off, trapping hundreds of millions of people in places that are increasingly unlivable,” Lustgarten writes.

Climate Change is Driving Migration North

The following is my blogpost from Life in the Finger Lakes.


IS POPULATION GROWTH COMING TO UPSTATE NEW YORK?

07/25/2019

By Madis Senner

It seems almost insane to be writing about how the Finger Lakes and Upstate New York Regions will be seeing an influx of people moving here while statistics show that we are still losing residents. Yet I firmly believe in the years ahead our population will grow by leaps and bounds. Why?

Climate change. People looking to escape rising temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing wildfires, more severe weather – tornadoes, hurricanes, rain bombs, microbursts and more will seek refuge in our area.

While migration patterns on balance are still towards the south and west there are also the beginnings of an undercurrent that runs counter to this trend. People in climate stricken areas in southern parts of the world are moving north.

NBC recently reported that the mass migrations we are seeing at our southern borders are the result of an extended drought in Central America. Last month Fortune magazine wrote that the USA will never solve its migration problem until it solves climate change.

Some may think my talk foolish. I firmly believe that we are seeing the nascent beginnings of how climate change will affect every aspect of our lives for the remainder of the century. I am not alone. The United Nations said that climate change is the defining issue of our time. The Nature Conservancy and others concur.

Many of us in the Finger Lakes Region have winter homes in Florida, or in other states in the southeast. Solomon Hsiang a professor of public policy at the University of California, who has written extensively about climate change, told Rolling Stone magazine that it is not a very pretty picture for America’s southeast. According to Hsiang the southeast will be the biggest loser due to damage from increased flooding, higher heat mortality and lower agricultural yields and will see an exodus of people. The migration of people will be northward, in particular the northwest, according to Hsiang.

As for the southwest, the Rolling Stone article says “In the not-so-distant future, places like Phoenix and Tucson, will become so hot that just walking across the street will be a life-threatening event.”

Graphic courtesy Haisam Hussein – http://haisam.com

Climate change will also affect the hydrological cycle. Parts of the country will see increased droughts; we in the Northeast will see more spring rains. Flooding will pollute drinking water in many locals. Heat will bring increased algae blooms to our lakes, as we are already seeing in our region. Rising seawater will begin to drive saltwater into the aquifers of coastal cities. Add to this that NASA found that one third of the world’s underground water basins are in distress and risk running dry. Included was the Ogallala Aquifer in America’s Midwest whose water has helped farmers make it the world’s breadbasket. The trend is clear: the amount of quality potable water in the world will continue to decrease, as climate change rages.

Fortunately, the Finger Lakes Region and Upstate New York overall has lots of water. The Great Lakes contains 20% of the world’s fresh water. The Finger Lakes and Adirondacks Regions also have significant amounts of water in lakes and ponds. It is our abundance of water that adds to our region’s appeal to those seeking refuge from climate change.

We need to realize that the Finger Lakes Region and the Upstate New York Region overall should, if our resources are managed properly, see an influx of residents and businesses.

Don’t buy into all of the pessimism about our region’s economic prospects, and how the cold weather and snow are major repellents, or that New York State’s high taxes are a deterrent. Our region is on the cusp of seeing a large inflow of new residents.

More Bad News on Climate Migration--Threshold for Human Heat Tolerance About to Be Lowered

A few days ago CBS reported  that the heat tolerance threshold for humans is much lower than believed; It is not the  95° plus 100% humidity that has been used for decades. Instead heat stress with high humidity begins to set in at  87°. They call it the wet bulb temperature. It was based upon research done by Penn State 

This change to lower the heat tolerance threshold has not taken effect yet, but when it does it will mean that all of our calculations for where it is safe or not safe to live, as well as climate migration and more will be changed. Meaning people will be abandoning the South sooner and migrating North. I believe upstate New York and America's north overall, will see a surge in climate migrants. 

The larger concern is that we continue to underestimate climate change because we did not totally understand it.

I have several posts on Climate Migration. I even wrote an article for the Life of Finger Lakes on  how people will begin to leave southern climes in favor of the north. It was a followup to at I did for them five years earlier.

Climate Migration and Insurance

For  years I have writing about the coming mass exodus of climate migrants from the South and coastal areas to the North. You can read them at  Climate Migration One of the factors besides climate driving this surge will be the inability to buy insurance, or paying exorbitant prices for it. 

As climate change begins damaging more regions around the USA and world, risks to insurers will start to rise from having to pay for catastrophes (LA wildfires, hurricanes in Florida...), to seeing the price of housing stocks fall as people begin moving North to escape climate change and the unaffordabilty of insurance (to even the possibility of not being able to buy homeowner insurance). I have noted on several occasions that insurers have abandoned places like Florida.

I mention this because today I read an explaining how a climate catastrophe in one region could trigger a crisis in the insurance market and a larger crisis in financial markets. Here is a link that connects to the article

I’m an economist. Here’s why I’m worried the California insurance crisis could trigger broader financial instability

Climate Migration Update

I am very concerned that upstate New York and America's north overall, will see a surge in climate migrants. So much so that we will be completely inundated.

I had written an article  for the March/April issue  Life In the Finger Lakes on how people will begin to leave southern climes in favor of the north. 

 It was a followup to a blog post I did for them five years earlier.

I have several posts on Climate Migration 

It was reported today that Phoenix has seen a spike in deaths from heat strokes in recent years. In my article for Life in the Finger Lakes I noted how a CBS Sunday morning segment interviewed a woman that drove her car wearing oven mittens..

Here is a link to the article, ‘Just brutal’: Why America’s hottest city is seeing a surge in deaths

Phoenix is not along. Much of Mexico has seen a spike in temperature with Mexico City hitting its highest recorded temperature ever.  What makes this even more worrisome is that water supplies are dwindling in Mexico City and some are forecasting its aquifer will run dry some time in June.

All this means people are going to be moving north.

Climate Change and Climate Migration

 I have been working on an article about climate migration, which is inevitable. However, what I find very concerning is the attitude and perspective of the writer's and prognosticators whose work I have been reading as I research the topic.

Many continue to believe that we can do with Mother Earth as we wish, as we have been doing for thousands of years. . In other words, there appears to be very little change in the believe the we can continue to do as we please; all we need to do is more judicious in our actions. Just figure out how many people can live in a certain location.

Very little, or no discussion,  about how we can best preserve and save our Mother. I would argue if we make our focus how we can best protect our Mother, we will in the process save ourselves.

I will post the article once published.

America's Southwest is Sweltering

I have been writing about the coming surge in Climate Migration for over a decade believing life would become unbearable in certain parts of the USA. Which will lead to higher homeowner's insurance, higher repair costs as higher temps will but stress on laborers. This will lead to climate migration north.

I say this because the temperature in America's southwest broke March record highs in several locations. Add that El Niño is coming this summer  much of the USA is going to sizzle. Many are already forecasting record heat this year.

When I think of record heat in the southwest I am reminded of CBS's David Pogues segment on climate change for Sunday morning of a woman using oven mittens to hold her steering wheel to drive her car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGhpBSATHsQ

High Risk Climate Locations To Be Shut Off By Insurers

An article in today's  Guardian,  'Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insure',  predicted climate change will bring an end to capitalism. Noting that,

The world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for many climate risks, said Günther Thallinger, on the board of Allianz SE, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. He said that without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments.

Basically, places deemed uninhabitable, or close to it, will be shut out from the insurance market and further investment. 

Günther Thallinger, added  this is bad for the overall financial sector,

“This applies not only to housing, but to infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, and industry,” he said. “The economic value of entire regions – coastal, arid, wildfire-prone – will begin to vanish from financial ledgers. Markets will reprice, rapidly and brutally. This is what a climate-driven market failure looks like.”

For years I have been talking about how climate change will devastate certain areas and encourage climate migration. The inability to buy insurance and a dearth of investment to a local  is going to devastate certain parts of America and the world at large. More publicity like this will push people to move and create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Climate Migration--Florida Home Prices Plunge YOY While Prices Rise Elsewhere

For several years I have been advocating that climate migration will drive people from southern climes northward in the USA. Newsweek reported that 3 of 5 largest home price declines in the country were in metropolitan areas in Florida over the last year. Meaning people are beginning to realize that rising temperatures and rising sea levels  will increasingly make Florida uninhabitable. Citing ATOM sources Newsweek said,

The biggest year-over-year decrease in typical profit margins—which can be calculated as the percentage difference between median purchase and resale prices—was recorded by ATTOM in the metropolitan area of Hilo, Hawaii, where the homeowners' margin was down from 80.5 percent in the second quarter of 2023 to 45.3 percent in the second quarter of 2024.

It was followed by Port St. Lucie, Florida (down from 95 percent to 73.9 percent); Daphne-Fairhope, Alabama (down from 49.8 percent to 34 percent); Crestview-Fort Walton Beach, Florida (down from 60.7 percent to 45.1 percent); and Naples, Florida (down from 84.9 percent to 69.2 percent).

 This does not portend well for  Florida.

Meanwhile my hometown of Syracuse was mentioned as being one of the fastest rising areas.

Florida's Housing Boom is Becoming a Bust as People Are Fleeing the State

 Below is a link to a Breaking Points' video on how the Florida's housing boom is unraveling and people are leaving the state. The report noted that;

--There's a dearth of buyers, with several listings on the market for some time have seen no lookers.

--Large institutions have turned to sellers.

--Insurance has jumped 400% in the last five years.

--Insurers have been leaving in droves.

--The Lender of Last Resort, or Support in this case, that is meant to support the Florida home owners insurance market is floundering and in trouble.

They paint a bleak picture, that has only been exasperated by two major hurricanes in the last few months.

I have been writing about climate migration, on how people will begin to leave southern climes in favor of the north. I even wrote an article  for the March/April issue  Life In the Finger Lakes. It was a followup to a blog post I did for them five years earlier.

I have several posts on Climate Migration 

Florida Housing Prices Falling--Another Indication that Climate Migration May Pick Up

Back on March 1st I posted an article I had written for the March/April issue  Life In the Finger Lakes on how people are beginning to leave southern climes in favor of the north because of rising temperatures and rising costs for help, insurance... Climate Migration Is A Change in Store For the Finger Lakes? It was a followup to a blog post I did for them five years earlier.

Newsweek just put out an article Prices Fall as Homeowners Desperately Try to Sell on how the price of homes in Florida are starting to fall because of the surge in homeowners insurance, one the factors I mentioned in my article. Saying,

The Sunshine State's number of motivated sellers on Zillow remained much higher than in other states like California and Texas. As of Wednesday morning, California had 1,032 motivated sellers for a total of 74,792 properties listed, while Texas counted 1,829 out of a total of 1818,888.

The high number of motivated sellers in Florida might be explained, in part, by the skyrocketing home insurance premiums in the state. In the past three years, the cost of home insurance has grown by 102 percent, according to the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), as the risk posed by extreme weather events is rising. Several private insurers have left the state or have stopped offering new policies.

Still early in this trend, we will see.

More Signs that the Northeast Needs to Prepare For an Influx of Climate Migrants

I have been saying for years that America's north and Canada is going to see an iinflux of burnt birds looking to escape the devastating affects of Climate Change in the South.

A heat dome over Texas is pushing feel like temperatures to 120° F in the state. The Dallas Morning News is claiming that Texas will be the hottest place in the world for the next few days. 

Other measures are not only saying living in America's south will be unbearable, but impossible. Home owner's insurance is spiking in certain parts of the south. One woman in St. Augustine, Florida got a bill for $36,000 for her historic home.

Add that some insurers such as Farmers are leaving Florida. Similarly we are seeing other insurers refusing to underwrite homes in Florida and other parts of the south and even southern California.This does not bode well for housing and life in Florida and parts of the south.

The Question I have? Where are all these climate migrants going to go? Add that our southern borders are bursting with climate migrants from Central and South America. We have dilemma.

The heat brought by climate change is challenging farmers. It is also raising the cost of farm insurance.

I could go on and on.

Climate Migration is a problem that has been simmering for years and is now accelerating. The lovely life many of us in upstate New York and in other parts of the North have enjoyed is about to come to a thunderous stop.

Be Well.

madis

Climate Change the Heat is On

A few weeks back I posted an article on how rising temperatures from Climate Change would drive migration north in America.Climate Change is Driving Migration North  I mention this because the Washington Post had an interesting article on temperature changes in America,

2°C: BEYOND THE LIMIT 

Extreme climate change has arrived in America

The article points out that the much ballyhooed 2° threshold marking the point of no return has already been achieved in many parts of America. To make its case it talked about Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey that used to export ice blocks in the 1890's now has ice so thin that it is dangerous to walk on in the dead of winter.

What was also interesting was a graph showing the areas that have heated up dramatically since 1895. In a way it is a bit of contrast to the graph in my post that shows America's southeast getting scorched. But it should be pointed out we are talking about the future and the southeast is already pretty warm. So while northern Minnesota has heated up a lot since 1895 it  started from a much lower base.

Further America's northeast, the area that argued would benefit from climate change, has been heating up fast as the picture below shows. However, again the northeast is still a lot colder than the southeast, particularly areas like the Thousand Islands region, along the St. Lawrence Rive north of Lake Ontario.

Salination of Costal Estuaries and Climate Migration

For years I have been talking about how climate change--rising temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing wildfires, increasing severity and frequency of tornadoes/hurricanes, salination of fresh water estuaries. etc---Will drive people north and away from coastal regions.Climate Change is Driving Migration North In recent days it was reported that New Orleans, a major coastal city  in the south, may run out of fresh drinking, potable, water.

This summer's heat wave has helped to dry out the Mississippi River reducing its water flow. A weakened  outflow from the Mississippi means less force to combat the inflow of saltwater. It is expected that in October New Orleans will not have fresh water to drink.

Climate Migration--Another Report Showing Insurers Fleeing High Risk Areas--Wildfire

A recently released report, Insurers Retreat as 2025 Wildfire Risk Reaches Dangerous Levels, reiterated that insurers are abandoning high risk areas. The report found,

• When the next extreme wildfires hit – perhaps in the next few months – thousands of uninsured houses may burn down. Regional property markets will collapse: property values will drop.
• 
  
•  As of the end of May there were over 200 active fires burning across Canada, half of which were classified as 0% contained or “out of control”.  This wildfire season is ramping up quickly and the data suggest the worst is yet to come.
• 
  
• Home insurance premiums have shot up 42% in the most fire prone areas of California.
• 
  
• One in five homes in extreme fire risk areas of California has lost coverage since 2019.
• 
  
• One in five homes in extreme fire risk areas of California has lost coverage since 2019.
• 
  
• Insurance markets are a leading indicator of how financial markets will deal with the climate crisis. Just as insurers won’t do business in key areas now, so too will investors avoid those kinds of risks. Insurance markets may be the first to show the effects of the climate crisis but the disruption won’t stop there.

Too Many People--World Population Reaches 8 Million Today

According to the United Nation World Population Prospects 2022 world population reached 8 billion today. This is not a good thing, it means we will be putting more pressure on Mother Earth because there are more of us. Add overconsumption and it is not surprising we have an environmental crisis--more people consuming, polluting...

As challenging as it will be to feed, house and take care of everyone the larger concern is the inherent conflict/war continued population growth poses. According to many we are facing a food crisis because of war in Ukraine, a reduction farmland and more mouths to feed. The World Food Programme says we are facing hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions

How are we going to deal with continued population growth when the Earth has lost a third of arable land in past 40 years, scientists ...https://www.theguardian.com › environment › dec › ar...and continues to lose arable land? How are we going to feed them all.

The World Wildlife Fund estimates 1.1 billion people around the world lack access to water. The drought in the America's west these past few years highlights our problem. How water shortages are brewing wars - BBC Futurehttps://www.bbc.com › future › article › 20210816-ho...

We already see the conflict that Climate Migration is causing around the world. America is being flooded with people crossing its southern border fleeing climate change in their home countries. This is creating internal conflict within America. Governors in southern states have begun packing people in buses and sending them north. While talking heads gin us up over the issue.

More people consuming more will create conflict.