Miami should begin ‘preparing for evacuation’ due to climate change, Berkeley professor argues

Daniel Aldana Cohen and Samantha Schuyler present arguments regarding the question “Should we begin preparing to evacuate Miami?” In a piece for The Nation on Friday.

Cohen, a professor of sociology at UC Berkeley, made a key argument in support of Florida’s mega-city evacuation to force Floridians and “municipalities across America to get serious about hosting climate migrants in equitable ways.” can go.”

“It’s important for governments and social movements to start planning for the millions of people to land in new places. Miami’s evacuation plans are an excellent starting point. Its residents are a multi-ethnic, multi-ethnic and multi-ethnic group. are that span class lines. Tragically, many of these people are already climate migrants — like the Puerto Ricans displaced by recent hurricanes,” Cohen said.

He continued, “If cities across the country were forced to plan how to integrate Miamians into communities rich in public green investment, they would typically plan for climate migration. will begin. Densification, ensuring tenants’ rights, upgrading infrastructure, taxing the rich, building green banks, and fighting racism and police violence.”

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Cohen further criticized the US for participating in what it described as “racial violence” for failing to properly relocate citizens.

“And yet, right now, the U.S. does not have a fair—or even a proactive—policy for immigrants and refugees. It still seeks to help indigenous communities displaced by environmental disasters caused by colonial settlers. Struggles. And America has handled domestic mobility. Terrifyingly for freedom. In the last century, the libertarian promise of the Great Migration was brutally eroded by segregation and mass incarceration. . Leading sociologists and environmental injustice advocates call this racial violence a form of racism. Deepen this environmental apartheid,” Cohen wrote.

A woman checks her phone at Ballast Point Pier on Tampa Bay ahead of Hurricane Ian, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Although Schuyler, The Nation’s research director, argued against evacuating Miami, he argued instead for coastal cities to better adapt to climate disasters.

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“In short, surface-level adaptation isn’t going to save metropolises like Miami; we need to reimagine coastal life. The United Nations estimates that more than 1 billion people live in low-lying cities that are coastal-specific.” vulnerable to climate risks,” Schuyler wrote. . “So, Miami has a lot of work to do. Until now, the metro area’s resiliency efforts have been greenlit and funded in such a staggered, fragmented and uncoordinated manner that they have resulted in The plans have gone awry.”

He also acknowledged, “At some point, if South Florida doesn’t change its approach to climate change, evacuation will be necessary. Learning how to adapt to the future of the planet. It’s not just South Florida. is facing climate catastrophe; it’s Los Angeles, New York City, Mumbai, and many other places. Tremendous human efforts built Miami, and if we act soon, that kind of effort will save it. can also save and show the world how it’s done.”

A woman pushes her car that was stuck in floodwaters in Miami as a tropical depression moved through South Florida, Saturday, June 4, 2022.
(Season of the Fox)

As recently as October, the mainstream media highlighted climate change as a threat to Florida, especially as the state faced Hurricane Ian. reported more than 600 uses of the phrase “climate change” between the one-week period of September 26 and October 2.