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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: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday January 07 2018, @03:07PM (1 child)
Rain and snow don't fall in the Great Lakes watershed? How have they not dried up due to evaporation already, if it's a static amount? How are they not highly saline if they receive so little moisture from their drainage? Good Lord, does this mean the city of Chicago is guilty of a horrific environmental crime because they reversed the flow of the Chicago river away from Lake Michigan and back downstate?
I admit that i am not a hydrologist, but i'm pretty sure water is not destroyed as it's moved around and used. Also, i'm not an agricultural scientist, but i'm pretty sure irrigation has been a key feature of civilization for thousands of years. The Romans used aqueducts to transport water from distant sources to where they needed it, and so did the Sumerians. In other words, i think it would be ok. The issue is it would cost a lot of money to build a system as big as the project i cited.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by canopic jug on Sunday January 07 2018, @05:11PM
The rain and snow inside the watershed is mostly generated from within the watershed and runs back into the lakes via streams and rivers. Some evaporates and escapes. That is offset by the small amount that arrives from outside, blown in by the wind. Less than 1% is renewed annually by precipitation [michigan.gov] and so on. It's already probably losing more than that to evaporation during the winters when there is not sufficient cold to cap the lakes with ice.
Water is not destroyed, but it can be drained away. As long as it stays within the same watershed there is not much to worry about other than various types of pollution. Start pumping it out of the water shed, whether in pipes or bottles [bloomberg.com], then eventually you have another desert on your hands.
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