Detailed post for episode 11 of The Green Divas Show
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The climate is changing whether you think it is man-made or not — it’s happening. So what can we do about it? Here’s what we are doing about it: We introduced a new segment series based on David Pogue’s new book How to Prepare for Climate Change: A practical guide to surviving the chaos.
climate migration
This week, we talked about climate migration. Pogue’s book goes deep into understanding why climate change should be a serious consideration if you are thinking of moving and relocating for any reason, but especially if climate change has impacted your ability to live where you live. His research offers some great insight into finding the best climate havens.
Scary global statistics
In the first half of the year 2019, 7 million people were internally displaced (within their own country) as the result of extreme weather, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. This record-breaking number is 2 times bigger than the number displaced by violence and conflicts! Global Report on Internal Displacement in 2020
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that by 2050 about 200 million people may have to move. That’s 1 in 45 people on earth! The IPCC also says that it is likely to go as high as a billion.
In 2017 – 50,000 people moved from puerto Rico to Florida due to Hurricanes Maris and Irma.
As it is, 40 million people move each year unrelated to climate issues.
Climate moves in the US
According to Pogue’s book, some states will lose population and some will gain it. Florida will lose the most and Texas will gain the most. Why Texas, you ask? It turns out most climate migrants will move no farther than 4 to 8 hours drive away. Often towards family and friends. So most people fleeing from heat and hurricanes in Louisiana and Florida will head for Texas.
Mr. Pogue shares detailed information in the chapter, “Where to live.” He cites this link to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraion) that offers a state-by-state map that shows impact of climate change past and projected for each state.
There have been 178 Alaskan communities threatened by erosion of their land. Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, home to the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw First Nation, is being depopulated with federal grant money, due to saltwater intrusion and sea level rise. The Quinault village of Taholah has requested $60 million to relocate away.
So, if you’ve been thinking of making a move, here are some things to consider and try to avoid if possible!
Heat waves, hurricanes, water shortages, wildfires, sea-level rise, extreme rainfall.
GDs @HOME
Plastic-free, non-toxic cleaning
A major pet peeve of us Green Divas is all the plastic and packaging that come with cleaning product. Those big bulky plastic jugs are the worst. Number one, they are so heavy when they are full, before we recycle them. And these days, who knows what really happens with plastic recycling.
What to avoid in common household cleaners…
From our post & podcast on toxic ingredients to avoid
1. Anything that bears a poison label, especially those cleaners that contain odorless, sweet-tasting diethylene glycol, found in window cleaners.
2. Stay away from formaldehyde-based deodorizers; it’s been linked to cancer.
3. Nix the triclosan, which has been shown to reduce immunity and increase antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
4. Don’t buy products that contain perfume or fragrance, which is a blanket term for tons of chemicals linked to allergies, among other problems.
5. Stay away from phenols in disinfectants—especially toilet bowl cleaners, which are bad to breathe.
6. Petroleum solvents in floor cleaners can damage your mucous membranes.
7. Spot removers containing perchloroethylene—the same stuff your dry cleaner uses—can cause liver and kidney damage.
Good reasons to make your own, right?
DIY Glass Cleaner – GD Meg discovered that the household DIY disinfectant she made and used on EVERYTHING earlier in the pandemic trauma turned out to also be the BEST glass cleaner! And it cleans EVERYTHING else as well.
Or you can make one using white vinegar.
Don’t have time or airspace to make your own? Here are some companies that you can trust and order from…
TruEarth – (we love their web address tru.earth) they created cleaning strips for everything. And fulfill all the eco-friendly requirements one can think of.
Honest – from Jessica Alba who we interviewed years ago when she was getting started. They have lots of wonderful gentle products for babies and their families. But they now have the forever glass bottle with small concentrate refills. Just add water.
Blueland – a new company that offers glass bottles with refill tablets the size of the nickel. As well as dish powder you can dust your sponge or dish for washing. Incidentally they have a good Shark Tank story.
Grove – We have been using their forever glass bottle/concentrate combo for all our household cleaners. What we like about Grove is that they sell many products from other companies that they vet for us, so there is choice. But we really appreciate their commitment to move beyond plastic. By 2050 they plan to be plastic free. In the meantime, they are already plastic neutral. Any of the Grove brand products you do buy that has a container of any sort, like their little bottle of concentrate or pouches for liquid soaps, can be sent back to the company for recycling.
