New NPG Forum Paper Calls for Sustainable Solutions for Populations Living in Climate-Sensitive Regions
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- January 8, 2025
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Addressing Global Warming by Urging Action to Mitigate Risks in High-Danger Zones
Alexandria, VA, (January 8, 2025): Proof of climate change is undeniable, yet the United States finds itself at a troubling crossroads. Published by Negative Population Growth, Inc., this new Forum paper offers compelling analysis which reveals a startling contradiction: while the dangers of climate change grow more urgent, population expansion and infrastructure development persist in the nation’s most climate-vulnerable regions. Building in Harm’s Way: America’s Population Growth Pattern Is Making It More Vulnerable to Global Warming, written by Nathanial Gronewold, confronts climate-change-skeptics and the pro-growth crowd, offering a bold vision for protecting American communities from future environmental crises.
Beginning his narrative by alerting readers of extreme weather patterns half a world away, Gronewold navigates the complexities of extreme weather before spotlighting local (US-based) regions that are experiencing similar patterns. After emphasizing the destructive and disruptive typhoon season in the Philippines, and the local response to migrate inland (or to the west coasts of the main islands), Gronewold points out that while regions in the US are also experiencing more severe weather patterns—Americans, unlike the Filipinos—are not moving away from the danger. In fact, he shares: “the US population has been inexorably shifting away from places relatively sheltered from climate-fueled extreme weather toward those parts of the country that are without question the most vulnerable to global warming. In other words, the US population has been surging in places where it really shouldn’t be, considering the risks.”
Gronewold then dives into scientific data that illustrates how global warming is impacting the earth, noting recent studies that highlight the pressing need for humans to address the challenges of climate change and the impact of population growth on our planet. Zooming out, Gronewold asserts: “Because so much of the damage that global warming will deliver is already baked in, much of the discussion has shifted to adaptation and ways to make our societies better capable of withstanding what’s coming. Building up better resiliency is the one thing vulnerable communities can do now while we all wait in vain for CO2 emissions to drop. However, we in the United States are doing the opposite, building up in areas directly in the line of global warming’s fire and adding more people to these areas, creating more future victims.”
The consequences of climate change vary by region in the United States. Gronewold uses maps to help readers visualize the increasing risks of drought, declining snowpack in the Pacific Northwest, and the impact of global warming on areas like the Mountain West and Southwest. He then notes that “a major portion of the US population is expanding and concentrating in exactly the places where it shouldn’t be, places that will face global warming’s wrath more acutely than other regions like the Great Lakes or Upstate New York, which are poised to record modest population declines.”
In his paper, Gronewold argues that population growth can be halted and even reversed, challenging the notion that growth is inevitable. He questions the logic of expanding in vulnerable areas and suggests moving vulnerable populations out of danger zones. He calls for smarter actions, including incentives to relocate people away from harm’s way, to avoid costly disasters, deaths, and destruction. Gronewold’s overall message emphasizes the need to stop population growth, especially in at-risk areas, and reverse it for the sake of public safety and long-term sustainability because, as stated within his work: “It’s time to stop the growth, stop the population surge, and then explore ways to move these vulnerable populations out of these increasingly dangerous danger zones.”
Since 1972, NPG has worked to educate both the public and policy leaders about the impacts of overpopulation. With a steadfast commitment to reducing population growth to achieve a sustainable balance with our environmental resources, NPG continues to be a leading voice of reason in a world often driven by the pursuit of perpetual growth. We do not simply identify the problems – we propose solutions. For more information, visit our website at NPG.org, follow us on Facebook @NegativePopulationGrowth or follow us on X @npg_org.
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