Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But given that we're clearly going to over-populate this nation at a rapid pace for the foreseeable future, it seems to me that the most viable places to live, strictly from a resource-availability and disaster-avoidance perspective, are the interior northwest and virtually everything east of the 98th meridian that isn't within 10 miles of the hurricane-prone coasts and is at least 20 feet above sea level. Oceans are rising and land is subsiding for various reasons, I don't want to get into a political debate but those are factoids about much of the SE and people can believe in whatever reasons they want. They can't argue with measurements, though.
Interesting to compare where the highest concentrations of native Americans lived vs. our current population distribution. It seems that a lot of the center of the nation, what coastal folks call "flyover country," had some of the highest concentrations. But as you get west of the 94th meridian you get into that Dust Bowl zone that is extremely vulnerable to drought. It will happen again and it will devastate places like DFW, OK City and KS City. The New Madrid fault will blow its gasket in the not-too-distant future, unleashing at least a magnitude 7 quake that will level Memphis and many other cities that aren't prepared for quakes. We're seeing a severe drought in AL and GA right now. There's no escaping the risks.
The extremely rapid growth of the Austin-San Antonio metro region is built on a shaky foundation of relatively stable wet-dry patterns over the past few decades, but historically there's evidence of multi-year droughts that would see our lakes, rivers and aquifers drop to dangerously low levels even with extreme conservation.
And then there's the energy situation --- if anything happens to the reliability of our energy supplies, the warm sectors of the sunbelt will become painfully expensive to live in comfortably. Texas is heavily populated because of air conditioning. Believe me, I wouldn't live here if I had to deal with the heat and humidity 24/7!
Midland booms when oil prices get high enough to make the Permian Basin wells profitable. I don't know the long-term prospects for oil supplies from that region but prices are likely to stay high and will eventually go a lot higher unless someone discovers how to harness quantum-entangled quarks to siphon energy from a parallel universe.
I didn't comment on your economic discussion, I think you covered that topic well, so I was mainly focusing here on the compatibility of the land and its environs with increased human populations. Frankly I think every place is over its naturally sustainable limit, but I'm rather apocalyptic about the future of our species so you should probably ignore me.
Apocalyptic? Perhaps, but grounded in historical events that tend to run in cycles. I think adjectives like farsighted and big picture would also apply. After all, you're familiar with geology so you will see things from a different perspective. I looked up the locations you mentioned. It makes sense that the interior northwest and all the areas within your parameters would be the safest. Here I was going on about tornado alley and you went much deeper into geology than I know. Thanks for the very interesting information. I like to come across stuff like that. From this point on, I’ll never look at a U.S. map the same again.
Last edited by desertgirl; 05-24-2007 at 07:02 PM..
Thanks for your kind words, desertgirl. The best we can get from a forum like this is to enhance each other's understanding and perspective on life, open our eyes wider, and entertain each other. Glad to have provided a bit of info that you found useful.
But a word of caution: most of my posts are polemic and rooted in bits of information that are buried in my memory. Therefore I might be wrong on some occasions when I sound like I'm posting factual info. For example, when I listed the locations that had the highest concentrations of pre-Columbian Americans, I was reciting from memory and impressions I've gathered through reading and listening to many sources. I wasn't quoting an authoritative source.
Take A Look At College Towns and/or State Capitols
Someone once told me that some of the strongest economies occur in cities that where there are large research universities and/or state governmental offices. Look particularly at cities located in the south, as well as, the western part of the US. Cities in UT and ID seem to have experienced some type of a boom in recent years.
Not so fast, my friend! I would say the northeast is the epicenter of their future, less and less so anyone elses and most especially California, who ought to seceed from the nation. They're the only state big enough to do so- What's this? The NYSE is going to drop the NY from their name as they merge with other boards in the country and throughout the world? Well it's about time.
Believe it or not, parts of Louisiana are experiencing much economic growth.
Shreveport-Bossier City, in northwest Louisiana, is making a comeback after years of economic malaise following the decline of the oil industry. Today, Shreveport is on the brink of an economic boom in the film, biomedical, science, and technology industries. Barksdale AFB in Bossier City is about to become the new headquarters for the Air Force Cyberspace Command, which will surely generate numerous jobs in high-tech industries.
In Inc. Magazine, the rankings for Alexandria, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge are all drastically higher than last year's rankings. Out of the 393 cities rated, Baton Rouge rose 219 points bringing its rank up to #59, Alexandria rose 199 points up to #77, and Lafayette rose 186 points up to #127. The growth in Baton Rouge and Lafayette is heavily tied to the Katrina exodus. Lafayette has actually tripled in size since 1960 and is one of the few major cities in the state with low crime. The Alexandria-Pineville area is growing partially as a result of Katrina (like Lafayette and Baton Rouge), but to a much larger extent because of industrial growth. A railroad tank car plant was recently located in Alexandria, which has already generated hundreds of jobs and will continue to produce even more in the future. The medical industry is also expanding here. Lake Charles, in southwest Louisiana, is also experiencing an economic boom in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Lake Charles has a thriving gaming industry developing across the lake from downtown.
Of course, some areas of Louisiana are not enjoying the same economic success that the previously mentioned cities are enjoying. New Orleans is obviously not in the best of shape right now. But the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain has been exploding with growth since Katrina hit. Northeast LA (the Delta region) which includes Monroe, has become economically depressed over the past few years as a result of layoffs and the departure of some major businesses and industries. Toyota recently considered building an auto plant in this area but ended up locating it in Tupelo instead.
Follow the money. When the baby boomers start retiring real soon, the areas they retire to will experience strong growth in financial services, health care, recreation, and housing. Those areas are the Inter-mountain west and the Carolinas. Bet your money on nc, sc, colorado, new mexico, nevada, and arizona.
Follow the money. When the baby boomers start retiring real soon, the areas they retire to will experience strong growth in financial services, health care, recreation, and housing. Those areas are the Inter-mountain west and the Carolinas. Bet your money on nc, sc, colorado, new mexico, nevada, and arizona.
I love that idea! Let's all make our money by wiping the asses of the sellouts who kill off the Midwest and take their money to Florida! Instead of enjoying life without them, let's cater to their every narcisstic whim!
... your plan worked until you realized that they will hire illegal migrants for $3 per hour. But you had something really going there for a while!
I just want to throw Seattle into the mix here. Typically unemployment is less than 5% which is not bad for a big city, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics it was down to 3.8% in April 2007.
City Data has this information about Seattle here - //www.city-data.com/us-cities/T...e-Economy.html
^ It's definitely a little out of date. If you can find any kind of home (non-condo) anywhere in Seattle or even north in Shoreline for $313,000 you should jump on it. The cost of housing here is only going up and up.
The list of major employers on that list seems right on, though I'm sort of surprised that Starbucks doesn't show up. Costco and Washington Mutual Bank are other big employers too.
So in my opinion, Seattle is a place with many employment opportunities - many businesses of all sizes, but high cost of housing in comparison to average wages.
UmbrellasYearRound? That's the best user name on this forum!
I knew immediately you must be in Seattle.
Yes, the economy seems VERY strong there, and the entire Puget Sound region is, in my opinion, the most spectacularly gorgeous setting of any urban area in north America. I include Vancouver in this, the whole area is absolutely amazing, strategically located, mild climate (in spite of the need for umbrellas), rich in resources, and it will continue to attract people. The unfortunate thing about this is the over-crowding. Same as every other nice place, they get loved to death and then you have to deal with high prices, pollution, traffic, etc. Alas, can't have it all, eh?
The one thing that will eventually shake your region's economy to the ground is a giant earthquake-tsunami or the eruption of Rainier or Baker, whichever of these 3 catastrophes comes first. Gorgeous scenery is usually created by dynamic forces beneath the surface, and those forces are something to be reckoned with!
Our biggest threats in Austin are probably drought and fire. Sure, there's an occasional tornado, but in this part of the country they usually don't cause nearly as much damage as the massive outbreaks that happen to the north in Tornado Alley. I think drought will eventually be the killer. We're growing at an unsustainable rate and there is historic precedent for droughts that can last a decade. We barely make it through 18-month dry spells, I can't imagine how we'd fare a few years into a severe drought. It would be horrible.
State College, Pa is doing very well. Home to Penn State, the largest employer is the University. But many other things are also there, like Accuweather! SC is where Accuweather started!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Take A Look At College Towns and/or State Capitols
Seattle
