Will climate change result in a scenario where Ypsilanti, Michigan becomes a thriving metropolis? #greatlakes #climatechange #economics #migration #realestate #water #cities #michigan #ypsilanti
As climate change brings disasters and increasingly unlivable conditions to growing swaths of the United States, it also has the potential to remake America’s economic landscape: Extreme heat, drought, and fires in the South and West could present an opportunity for much of the North.
Tens of millions of Americans may move in response to these changes, fleeing coasts and the countryside for larger cities and more temperate climates. In turn, the extent to which our planet’s crisis can present an economic opportunity, or even reimagining, will largely depend on where people wind up, and the ways in which they are welcomed or scorned.
This time, the Great Lakes’ water is what will persuade people to move here: Humans have long migrated in pursuit of fresh water. Temperature will also make Michigan an attractive destination for climate migrants. For the coldest places, global warming promises newfound productivity and economic growth. The research connecting economic activity to cool temperatures suggests that there is an optimum climate for human productivity, and as ideal conditions for humans shifts northward, some places may soon find themselves smack in the middle of it. The same research suggests that when that happens, people are bound to follow.
Indeed, big commercial agricultural companies and other land investors may already be anticipating this. Over the past several years, land values have skyrocketed across the upper Midwest, as buyers including Bill Gates have snatched up thousands of acres of farmland. To the south, they see the Ogallala Aquifer being depleted, and in California, regulatory mandates potentially reducing water consumption in the Central Valley by 40 to 50 percent, while in northern Michigan, there is more water than anyone knows what to do with.
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1moI have a creek area running through my back yard and I stepped under the tree canopy the other day and it was amazing. I would have stayed there the rest of the day...but mosquitos. We keep trying to invent carbon-reducing machines and practices...just plant trees EVERYWHERE and see what happens. If we truly want to be good stewards and make our cities truly green...work trees into city planning. Not just in parks, but in urban areas. They offer aesthetic value, carbon reduction, and cooling effects. It's been right under our noses...errrr...above our heads the whole time.