The Migrant Workers Who Follow Climate Disasters
By Sarah Stillman
Bellaliz Gonzalez had never heard of Midland, Michigan, before a white van dropped her off there in late May, 2020. The journey from her home…
MIGRATION
Climate change has already and will continue to fundamentally shift the movements of all life on Earth. Already, 1% of the Earth is considered a “barely livable” hot-zone, but by 2070 that proportion could rise to 19%. The environmental instability that drives human migration also remakes the migration patterns of animals. Entire ecosystems are either transforming or collapsing and these changes reverberate throughout the animal kingdom—human society is no exception. With climate migration comes societal transformation and the acute need for capable leadership who can prepare for these inevitable changes.
Migration, whether human or animal, is symptomatic of the holistic transformation of Earth’s ecosystems. Migration is a logical effect of a changed environmental landscape. However, the extent to which the landscape is changed is hugely dependent on carbon emissions, which is hugely dependent on whether or not policies are passed that structurally enforce a rapid decline in emissions.
SOURCE: THE WORLD BANK
CURRENT NEWS
Facing floods and fires, undocumented immigrants have nowhere to turn for help
By María Paula Rubiano A. Photo: Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post via Getty Images
When Hurricane Ida hit New York City on September 16, it dumped more than three inches of rain an hour. Sewers overflowed, streets turned into…
The US Can’t Deport Its Way Out of the Climate Migration Crisis
By Dr. Mila Turner
The US has begun to forcibly expel hundreds of Haitian asylum seekers and other migrants, returning them to the dire economic, political, and climate crises from which they fled.…
Climate Change is Fueling a Wave of Migration, Study Finds
By Kate Zerrenner Photo: Yoda Adaman , Unsplash
Global leaders will convene in New York City for Climate Week next week, and environmental justice is again one of the main themes for discussion. The timing…
Mother Nature and migration are inextricably linked
By Marshall Terrill
Climate migration is expected to displace more than 200 million people in the next three decades, according to a recent World Bank report.
Climate migration is already happening — for homeowners who can afford it
By Salvador Rodriguez Photo: Christy Gentry , CNBC
For those who are already feeling the direct impact of global warming and can afford to relocate, climate change migration has begun.
What part of the US is safest from climate change?
By Camille Squires Photo: Mike Segar , Reuters
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Increasing urban density could reduce climate change
By Dan Grossman Photo: Scripps National
States are starting to re-think the American dream of white picket fences as they build housing with the idea of reducing carbon emissions.
Fleeing Disaster Is Hard. Climate Change Is Making It Harder
By Matt Simon Photo : David Odisho , Getty Images
In Louisiana, Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday, devastating communities with 150-mile-per-hour winds and towering storm surges. And in California, the Caldor Fire, which has…
Climate change be damned. More Americans are moving to high-risk areas
By Vanessa Yurkevich
Seventeen years ago, when Adriana Nichols moved from New York City to Los Angeles, she had a simple wish list: natural light (her New York…
Populations in high-risk climate areas grow: Redfin
By Lexi Lonas
Populations in areas of the United States at high risk for climate disasters are growing, according to an analysis done by real estate listing service Redfin.
Climate and refugee organizations say Biden has power to help address climate change-driven displacement
By Rebecca Morin
A cross section of refugee and climate organizations say President Joe Biden can help address refugees driven from their homelands by climate change-related factors by using a…
KEY RESOURCES
World Migration Report 2020
World Migration Report 2020
06/01/21
Since 2000, IOM has been producing world migration reports. The World Migration Report 2020, the tenth in the world migration report series, has been produced to contribute to increased understanding of migration throughout the world.…
New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States
New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States
11/28/20
According to new data from the Rhodium Group analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures and changing rainfall will drive agriculture and temperate climates northward, while sea level rise will consume…
The Great Climate Migration
The Great Climate Migration
By Abrahm Lustgarten 07/23/20
This article, the first in a series on global climate migration, is a partnership between ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, with support from the Pulitzer Center.
MORE NEWS
To Flee, or to Stay Until the End and Be Swallowed by the Sea
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The Rev. Roch Naquin grew up on this island along the Louisiana coast, trapping muskrats and mink in the marsh beyond his family’s home and cutting firewood from a stand of oak trees.
This Louisiana neighborhood is retreating in the face of climate change
This Louisiana neighborhood is retreating in the face of climate change
By Alexandria Herr Photo: Go Nakamura/Getty Images 06/03/21
In early May, President Joe Biden stood in front of the 70-year old Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles, Louisiana. With the aging bridge in the background, he spoke about the hurricanes that have battered…
Extreme Weather Displaces Record Numbers of People as Temperatures Rise
Extreme Weather Displaces Record Numbers of People as Temperatures Rise
By Deutsche Welle Photo: S. Bandopadhyay 05/21/21
Storms, floods, wildfires and droughts drove more than 30 million people from their homes last year, as rising temperatures wrought extra chaos on the climate, according to a report published Thursday by the Internal Displacement…
Freshwater fish are in “catastrophic” decline with one-third facing extinction, report finds
Freshwater fish are in “catastrophic” decline with one-third facing extinction, report finds
By Sophie Lewis Photo: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP Via Getty Images 02/23/21
Thousands of fish species are facing “catastrophic” decline — threatening the health, food security and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people around the world. New research shows that one-third of all freshwater fish now…
As Biden Seeks Answers on Climate’s Impact on Migration, Sydney Declaration Provides Legal Ground Rules for Action
As Biden Seeks Answers on Climate’s Impact on Migration, Sydney Declaration Provides Legal Ground Rules for Action
By Jane McAdam 02/19/21
In an executive order earlier this month, President Joe Biden ordered a report into “climate change and its impact on migration, including forced migration, internal displacement, and planned relocation,” including “options for protection and resettlement…
Climate Migration Needs Personal Stories
Climate Migration Needs Personal Stories
By Cameron Ramey Photo: Neil Palmer, CIAT 01/05/21
Reporting personal stories illustrating the impacts of climate change bears importance beyond feeding reader interest or even good journalism practice. Personal stories give a human face to one of the most tangible consequences of unmitigated…
New maps document big-game migrations across the western United States
New maps document big-game migrations across the western United States
11/12/20
For the first time, state and federal wildlife biologists have come together to map the migrations of ungulates across America’s West. The maps will help land managers and conservationists pinpoint actions necessary to keep migration…
How Climate Migration Will Reshape America
How Climate Migration Will Reshape America
By Abrahm Lustgarten 09/15/20
August besieged California with a heat unseen in generations. A surge in air-conditioning broke the state’s electrical grid, leaving a population already ravaged by the coronavirus to work remotely by the dim light of their…
Climate change could lead to mass migration as people head north to survive
Climate change could lead to mass migration as people head north to survive
By Abrahm Lustgarten 07/30/20
The Earth’s temperature is expected to drastically increase over the next 50 years, which will likely force entire nations of people to travel north for survival. ProPublica senior environmental reporter Abrahm Lustgarten mapped out what…
Climate Change Will Drive People Across Borders
Climate Change Will Drive People Across Borders
By Sonia Shah Photo by Loren Elliott 07/29/20
Extreme wildfires savaged Northern California in 2018, leaving the homeless to camp out in a Home Depot parking lot in Oakland, not far from the billionaire hub of Silicon Valley. Hurricane Irma displaced more than…
