I live in this mess, though at least a bit farther inland. Visiting Miami a couple of weeks ago, you'd think the construction boom will never end - 50+ story condo and office buildings shooting up...
I live in this mess, though at least a bit farther inland. Visiting Miami a couple of weeks ago, you'd think the construction boom will never end - 50+ story condo and office buildings shooting up everywhere downtown.
One thing the article doesn't mention - the party is going to end much, much sooner than 50 years from now. A friend who was a civil engineer for the local county water departments is saying that the fresh groundwater supply for the region is already failing due to saltwater infiltration.
That's leaving aside the risks of devastation from stronger, more frequent hurricanes.
And yet, real estate prices remain high and the job market is booming as companies relocate here (tax avoidance, FTW!). Retirement to the land of sunshine and no winter remains a booming industry.
There's no shortage of demand to live in "Paradise".
I don't think people (well, business people and governments mostly) will start to wake up and get busy until the economic damage starts to set in. Once we start racking up a few billion dollars in...
I don't think people (well, business people and governments mostly) will start to wake up and get busy until the economic damage starts to set in. Once we start racking up a few billion dollars in damages a year, every year, with the number steadily going up, they'll get busy - but of course, by then it'll all be too late to matter. Then we'll get some major 'holy shit' moment, like a Cat5+ hurricane slamming directly into New York City (which has happened before) with a trillion in damages. Then things will start to come unglued right quick.
North is the new West. Go west young man, go west. Beat the rush.
That'd be about the most depressing way to revitalize the rust belt, but I could see it happening as it's hard to think of a more ideal location for Americans displaced by climate change. Plenty...
That'd be about the most depressing way to revitalize the rust belt, but I could see it happening as it's hard to think of a more ideal location for Americans displaced by climate change. Plenty of infrastructure, not really prone to natural disasters, effectively limitless fresh water, and even ports and sea access without the worry of sea level rise.
I've lived in the rust belt my entire life. We had our collapse long before the rest of the country, and learned to live in it. No so bad really, though generally it's all run down, everywhere....
I've lived in the rust belt my entire life. We had our collapse long before the rest of the country, and learned to live in it. No so bad really, though generally it's all run down, everywhere. Bridges, roads, the power grid isn't so great either especially in the more rural areas. Jobs are there, but so are tons of empty buildings just waiting to be refurbished and repurposed. The winters were the worst of it, but those appear to be migrating elsewhere.
It'd be interesting if the mass migrations started happening before the coastal cities take the hit. That might take some of the pain out of managing the disasters. Given what we saw with Katrina and New Orleans, I feel for the folks who either can't or won't migrate before the trouble arrives.
I agree with this. The damage is already being seeing in other parts of the world (Sahara Desert), but Westerners won't care until they start dying, the food runs out and civil unrest kicks in....
I agree with this. The damage is already being seeing in other parts of the world (Sahara Desert), but Westerners won't care until they start dying, the food runs out and civil unrest kicks in. This could all be fixed now, but why stop the gravy train?
sidenote: the answer to the headline question is yes, it's just that the people selling condos that will be threatened by sea level rise or otherwise underwater in 50 years don't financially...
sidenote: the answer to the headline question is yes, it's just that the people selling condos that will be threatened by sea level rise or otherwise underwater in 50 years don't financially benefit from being ethical in this situation and a lot of people who will be worst impacted don't have the ability to move out for one reason or another. c'est le capitalisme, folks (and income inequality also)
I live in this mess, though at least a bit farther inland. Visiting Miami a couple of weeks ago, you'd think the construction boom will never end - 50+ story condo and office buildings shooting up everywhere downtown.
One thing the article doesn't mention - the party is going to end much, much sooner than 50 years from now. A friend who was a civil engineer for the local county water departments is saying that the fresh groundwater supply for the region is already failing due to saltwater infiltration.
That's leaving aside the risks of devastation from stronger, more frequent hurricanes.
And yet, real estate prices remain high and the job market is booming as companies relocate here (tax avoidance, FTW!). Retirement to the land of sunshine and no winter remains a booming industry.
There's no shortage of demand to live in "Paradise".
Me, I'm GTFO.
I don't think people (well, business people and governments mostly) will start to wake up and get busy until the economic damage starts to set in. Once we start racking up a few billion dollars in damages a year, every year, with the number steadily going up, they'll get busy - but of course, by then it'll all be too late to matter. Then we'll get some major 'holy shit' moment, like a Cat5+ hurricane slamming directly into New York City (which has happened before) with a trillion in damages. Then things will start to come unglued right quick.
North is the new West. Go west young man, go west. Beat the rush.
That'd be about the most depressing way to revitalize the rust belt, but I could see it happening as it's hard to think of a more ideal location for Americans displaced by climate change. Plenty of infrastructure, not really prone to natural disasters, effectively limitless fresh water, and even ports and sea access without the worry of sea level rise.
I've lived in the rust belt my entire life. We had our collapse long before the rest of the country, and learned to live in it. No so bad really, though generally it's all run down, everywhere. Bridges, roads, the power grid isn't so great either especially in the more rural areas. Jobs are there, but so are tons of empty buildings just waiting to be refurbished and repurposed. The winters were the worst of it, but those appear to be migrating elsewhere.
It'd be interesting if the mass migrations started happening before the coastal cities take the hit. That might take some of the pain out of managing the disasters. Given what we saw with Katrina and New Orleans, I feel for the folks who either can't or won't migrate before the trouble arrives.
I agree with this. The damage is already being seeing in other parts of the world (Sahara Desert), but Westerners won't care until they start dying, the food runs out and civil unrest kicks in. This could all be fixed now, but why stop the gravy train?
sidenote: the answer to the headline question is yes, it's just that the people selling condos that will be threatened by sea level rise or otherwise underwater in 50 years don't financially benefit from being ethical in this situation and a lot of people who will be worst impacted don't have the ability to move out for one reason or another. c'est le capitalisme, folks (and income inequality also)
Boomers and shareholders over the common man.