American “Climate Refugees”?

Guest “I couldn’t make this sort of schist up, if I was trying” by David Middleton

Americans are fleeing climate change — here’s where they can go
PUBLISHED THU, APR 21

Lindsey Jacobson

Millions of Americans are living in communities with precarious climate conditions, in houses that feel overpriced.

There is a solution for many of these people, though: Move to one of the so-called climate havens.

Climate havens or climate destinations are situated in places that avoid the worst effects of natural disasters and have the infrastructure to support a larger population. Many of these legacy cities are located in the Northeast.

Jesse Keenan, associate professor of real estate at Tulane University, named the following cities as possible climate havens…

[…]

Anna Marandi, who served as the program manager of climate resilience and sustainability at the National League of Cities, added two other places to the safe haven list: Ann Arbor, Michigan and perhaps surprisingly, Orlando, Florida.

Orlando makes the cut, Marandi said, because the city has introduced measures to decarbonize.

[…]

CNBC

Where do I start? Maybe with the headline:

Americans are fleeing climate change — here’s where they can go

The CNBC “journalist” has a BA in sociology, anthropology and film & media studies and seems to either think that Americans are literally fleeing climate change or she is making the standard alarmist assumption that something predicted by climate models, is already happening.

Any Americans who *are* currently fleeing climate change, probably should have known where they were going before they started to flee.

The academic geniuses, cited in the article, suggest that these places are good climate refugia:

One would think that the “associate professor of real estate at Tulane University” might have checked to see the actual patterns of and reasons for population migration. Maybe he could have checked with U-Haul or another major relocation company, like North American Moving Services.

According to the map above, people are “fleeing” the red states (that mostly vote blue) to refugia in the blue states (that mostly vote red). Note three quarters of the “climate haven” cities are in states that are hemorrhaging population.

So… It is clear that “Americans are fleeing” something, but it doesn’t appear to be climate change.

From what terrors are Americans fleeing? Where are they seeking refuge?

This is why they are fleeing:

1.) Desire for a lower cost of living
2.) Moving closer to family
3.) Increased work flexibility
Other important factors for moving Americans include:
4.) Looking for new job opportunities
5.) Better schools
6.) Better safety regarding the pandemic

Where Are Americans Moving in 2021?

So… Americans actually aren’t “fleeing” anything. They are seeking out “better” everything than what they currently have.

The esteemed professor of real estate and “climate resilience and sustainability” expert think Americans should be moving to cities that are decarbonizing and reducing “urban sprawl” by packing people into small areas, where they can’t have personal automobiles (AKA: Agenda 21).

Orlando makes the cut, Marandi said, because the city has introduced measures to decarbonize. While the natural environment, such as being a noncoastal city, is an advantage, cities can “earn” the designation by working to provide benefits like affordable housing and being committed to economic sustainability.

“I see climate migration as an opportunity for these cities to avoid the mistakes of urban sprawl,” Marandi said. “They often have a vibrant, walkable downtown that might just need a little bit of revitalization.”

CNBC

If climate change is a real problem, it’s a global problem. Local decarbonization measures don’t “earn” anything in the climate refugia department. While Charleston SC isn’t mentioned in the article, it appears to be on the map. It’s fracking sinking into the Atlantic Ocean. Why is it on the map as a possible climate haven? Did they “earn” climate haven status due to their junk lawsuit against “big oil”?

Real people seem to be seeking out “urban sprawl”…

Americans are moving to these states in particular for a few likely reasons:

1.) Desire for More Space – Neighbor.com found that half of those who are moving in 2021
desire more space in their new home.

With home space also being such a major factor, states with lower median housing prices such
as Arizona and Tennessee have become top destinations while California, New Jersey and New
York have far higher median home prices.

[…]

2.) Remote Work Opportunities – With no obstacles to living anywhere in the United States due to remote work, millions of Americans have taken the opportunity to live in a city where they will have more disposable income.

[…]

3.) Taxes – New York (12.7%), New Jersey (12.2%), Illinois (11.0%) and California (11.0%) all
rank among the top five states with the highest local and state tax combinations based on
research by the Tax Foundation.

Although taxes are not the only factor people consider when deciding where to live, they can
certainly be a major consideration.

Meanwhile, the states with the highest number of inbound Americans are some of the most
tax-friendly states in the US including Arizona with a 1.8% and Tennessee with no income ta
while South Carolina has a graduated income tax from 0 to 7%.

[…]

Where Are Americans Moving in 2021?

Americans appear to be moving away from Agenda 21 utopias and “climate havens.”

Conclusions

1. Climate change didn’t make the cut on the list of reasons Americans are moving.
2. These items weren’t cited as desirable:
   • Avoiding “urban sprawl.”
   • Local decarbonization measures.
   • Cities with “a vibrant, walkable downtown.”
   • Sustainability.
   • Cities “located in the Northeast.”

People seem to be seeking out places in the suburbs and beyond, where they can have more property, larger homes and bigger carbon footprints.