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[...] Some experts estimate that climate change could force between 150 and 300 million people to find a new place to live by the middle of this century, though there is considerable uncertainty about the amount. Finding suitable locations to house them will be a significant impediment. As Michael Gerrard explained, "part of the problem is scale. If we're talking about millions of people having to be on the move, it just doesn't work."
In the U.S., there are very few habitable places that aren't already occupied by homes, businesses, or agriculture, or preserved as park lands or forests. Meanwhile, rural areas would provide few opportunities for migrants to find employment and rebuild their lives.
Instead, Gerrard suggested moving people from high-risk areas to cities whose populations are shrinking, such as Detroit, Michigan. He sees cities' potential for vertical development, energy-efficient buildings, and public transportation as a way to sustainably host climate migrants.
What if refugees from Caribbean islands don't want to live in Detroit?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @12:42PM (3 children)
China is doing this for quite a while. We in the west like to laugh at them and call those Ghost Cities.
It is ok though. We have money to spend when the time comes and the chineese will rent these cities to us. Or we can fuck off elsewhere.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday January 06 2018, @10:23PM (2 children)
They do it because it's the latter-day implementation of the Great Leap Forward, when they were faking all their numbers to make their crazy production quotas.
Building empty cities now makes no sense in China because they are poor quality, and left untended will quickly fall to ruin again.
On the other hand China has implemented the best solution for reducing population pressure: the One Child Policy. It has stabilized their population growth. Alas it has had other unexpected consequences, like a huge spike in female infanticide in some areas that have resulted in millions of men who now can't find brides, and so practice kidnapping of women from other areas with a relative abundance.
So it's good to temper our impression of the Chinese as great long-term planners when it comes to climate change or anything else. They have a mixed record. In fact, to further qualify the example I gave of the One Child Policy, that was only necessary because Mao told everybody to have crazy big families after the Communist victory over the Kuomintang.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 07 2018, @01:57AM (1 child)
An interesting, and very un-PC question, is whether the side effect of the excess men is an improvement in the chinese race. Assuming that it is the lowest quality males who can't find a mate, the effect is the same as culling a percentage of the breeding stock.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 07 2018, @06:23PM