"The case for ‘managed retreat’ in the face of climate change"
View on Cosmos Magazine websiteMargaret Walls was quoted in a Cosmos Magazine article by Richard Lovett titled "The case for ‘managed retreat’ in the face of climate change". The article discusses climate change and "managed retreat," the controlled evacuation of people from locations at high risk of climate change consequences. Listed below is Walls' full quote:
"Margaret Walls, an economist at Resources for the Future, in Washington, DC, who was not part of Siders’ team, concurs. But the problem, she says, is complicated by economic pressures. In a free-market economy, people have the right to own property. Beachfront, riverfront, and edge-of-the-forest properties are desirable, and therefore expensive. They also contribute the community’s tax base, making the local community unwilling to zone them out of existence. 'So there’s this perfect storm of factors that makes this really difficult,' she says.
"There are also problems of equity and social justice, Walls says – adding that this is a point that Siders also makes. 'People who can move have the resources—money, and the ability to get a job in a new location,' she says.
"Those who are left behind are the most vulnerable.
"Worse, she says, as the rich see the writing on the wall and move away, property prices will drop, inducing the poor and vulnerable to move in. 'Why do you have poor people living near refineries?' she asks, as an analogy. 'Because property values are lower, and that’s where they can afford to live.'"
