How Migration May Shape Society Because of Climate Change

One of the major ways in which demographics changes is by migration of populations. The first environmental refugees that can clearly attribute their troubles to climate change have left their South Pacific islands for the last time in recent years. The massive amount of development in coastal areas that has taken place since the 1960s has increased the worldwide population of vulnerable people drastically. It is thought that as many as 40% of the people on Earth could be displaced if seas rose half as high as some estimates.

Clearly, migration away from storm, flood, fire and desert ravaged areas will cause great pressures on resources and natural environments. It will also have an impact on people who are not used to being so closely crowded together. For instance, if a nation founded on a given belief looses its homeland, where can they set up a place to freely practice their beliefs? Attempts at nation-building in the past have not met with resounding success, to say the least.

Population Growth in an Energy Poor Future

One of the biggest challenges of the 21st century is the population problem. While the effects that were predicted as long ago as the 18th century, the ability to use oil to grow food has allowed the human race to get far larger than is sustainable on one planet. Since off-world migration isn't an option yet, the population is going to have to come down with as little misery as possible.

Whether by simply running out of getting off the habit to save our own skins, the use of petroleum must be drastically lowered to levels that existed before the living memory of most people. The least traumatic way to do this is through education and access to birth control, to keep the population from getting any larger. With access to prescription medications difficult for many people and the cost of condoms, low cost vasectomies are the most sustainable option for many places and situations.

Micro-turbines for Supplemental Renewable Energy at Home

One of the most exciting developments in the production of renewable energy at home is the use of micro-turbines. Far less offensive to homeowners association, micro-turbines can be unobtrusively mounted in arrays that can supply a surprising amount of power. They also have the advantage of continuing to work in very light wind situations.

In many areas this power can then be sent directly back to the grid with a grid-lined conditioner and inverter. If you need to store the power for your own supplemental use, there are several options. The most common is the use of deep cycle marine batteries in an array. This stores direct current, so an inverter is also required to bring this power up to 110 or 220 volts AC. Such equipment is often more expensive than the collection devices, so it's good to plan accordingly for the cost, care and maintenance of your storage system. Another option is the use of a hydrogen fuel cell. With a large enough wind array, you can generate plenty of power to satisfy your needs when the wind isn't blowing.