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Northward, ho! Look out, Oregon, for a global warming land rush

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 6, 2008 at 6:34 am

From the Oregonian & Oregon Live:

The prediction caused a collective grimace among the mayors, city councilors, engineers and planners in the audience. By 2060, a Metro economist said, the seven-county Portland area could grow to 3.85 million people — nearly double the number here now. Then Lorna Stickel, a planner with the Portland Water Bureau, stood to ask a question. Does the population projection, she asked, account for the possibility of climate change refugees?

Brains have been spinning ever since. Because what if? What if the American Southwest dries up, browns out, and those people now misting their patios in Arizona head to the still-green Pacific Northwest? What if Californians hit the road north in numbers far surpassing the 20,000 who now move to Oregon each year? What if the polar ice melts, oceans rise and millions living along coastal areas — or ravaged by Katrina-like storms — have to move?

What happens, Stickel later asks, “as we become more attractive and other places become less attractive?”

Back in her office at the Water Bureau, Stickel digs out graphs showing U.S. migration patterns and a projection of areas that might be affected by climate change. “If this and this combine to this,” Stickel says, gesturing back and forth, “that’s the nut.”

Read more from the Oregonian & Oregon Live by clicking here.

October 6, 2008 · Filed Under Climate change & water supply

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