Climate Refugees

[CatherineM]

This is not a debate on whether climate change is real. This is a discussion on how to handle the refugees that are being created by sea level rise. I just read an article about the measures Miami is taking to stave off the flooding that is already starting. I lived in St. Pete for a couple of decades, and when I think of "home" that picture is the first one that comes up. I have a hard time thinking about some of my favorite places being under water  

Considering the number of people worldwide who live by the ocean, there are lots of places with less money to deal with the situation than Miami. I know some low lying pacific island nations are considering relocating to Australia or New Zealand. I'm wondering how much resources should be spent on fighting the tide or spent instead on relocating people. The budget Miami is going to put into the fight is the GDP of half the world's poorer countries. 

[Gabriela]

Why don't we just call the Dutch?

[CatherineM]

Dutch engineers are currently making big bucks helping cities like Boston and New York. The two problems are most countries can't afford those kinds of improvements, and Holland doesn't get hurricanes or typhoons. 

[CatherineM]

634 million people live in coastal areas within 30 feet (9.1 m) of sea level. Two thirds of the world's cities with over five million people are located in these low-lying coastal areas. Miami is the most vulnerable according to insurance estimates of 33 billion loss by 2030. 

[CatherineM]

In the Mekong Delta region, salt water intrusion has traveled 70 kilometres inland. People are having to pay for fresh water or drink 4% salty water. This region supplies a large percentage of total rice production for the world. Some farmers have begun to switch from rice to shrimp aquaculture.