Climigrants; Mass Migration to the Midwest Amongst Climate Change
Gabby Muehlenbeck, Design & Communications Coordinator
7 minute read
"I told you we should've moved to Wisconsin.” As seen in the popular film 2012, all of Earth's residents face a common hurdle; our planet has an expiration date. Amid the multitude of global catastrophes, few survivors find refuge in none other than Wisconsin - the last standing safe haven that became the South Pole.
Fast forward to 2024, this doesn’t seem too far off. Global climate change is generating migration to the upper Midwest: self-proclaimed ‘climigrants’ or ‘climate change refugees’ are seeking solitude around the Great Lakes. Land degradation in the West, sea levels rising on saltwater coasts, and rising temperatures all over the globe are causing individuals to seek refuge in the safe haven that is the Midwest. Climigrants are on the hunt to find more habitable and affordable places to live. Even at Kall Morris Inc (KMI), our Marquette, Michigan, staff is a mix of stalwart locals, Michiganders, and climigrants. There are many reasons KMI chose Marquette as the place from which to Keep Space Clear for All, but it wasn’t just a fit for the mission. Like for many, it was a fit for the people.
As many folks make up this region, their stories explore and expose the various factors of their own reality that drove them to Lake Superior’s shining shores. While fur-trappers, traders, miners, and more have sought the respite of the northern shores, these new adoptees of the land might share more with the original inhabitants that still flourish in the UP: a focus on community, opportunity, as well as the environment.
I moved to Marquette in January of 2019 to attend Northern Michigan University. It didn't take long to call the Queen City my chosen home. I became acquainted with locals and transplants from near and far. Eliseo and Zoey Vega came into my life a few years back whilst I witnessed Eliseo whaling on his saxophone in the band Soul Responsibility. As the Vegas and I became acquainted, I learned they made their move to the UP in September of 2021. After enduring forest fires in California that created air quality so poor that they weren’t able to safely go outside, they decided to make the big move to the Great Lakes Region. The Vega family packed their bags in San Francisco and made the decision to start life anew across the country.
Before settling in Marquette, Michigan, the Vegas first tried their luck in Austin, Texas. Ultimately, they decided it was not a great place for them to settle as the world's temperatures keep rising, making locations closer to the equator increasingly inhospitable. Marquette was a safe bet to plant their roots and start their family life.
“We are here to stay,” Eliseo Vega said. “We’ll keep traveling here and there to visit friends and family, but this is home now. It’s a beautiful place, kind people, and we could afford to buy a house. Being removed from big cities and more insulated from climate disasters feels like a good long-term plan.”
Rim Fire. Consumed more than 250,000 acres of forest near Yosemite National Park in 2013 (Wikipedia)
Locals are beginning to notice this change. With land being bought and built on, whether it be hotels, condos, houses, etc., Yoopers are being directly affected by this influx of migrants. While this influx may be good for the local economy, with the promise of growth and more income, there are downsides for those who were born and raised here.
A Marquette local (who wishes to remain anonymous), John Doe, was born and raised in Big Bay, 25 miles outside of Marquette. In recent years, Doe resided on his family’s land in Forestville Basin. The plot of land was beautiful, secluded from the rest of the residential neighborhoods in the Marquette city limits. Trees as far as the eye could see, with the basin serving as a natural water preserve that housed life to many local ecosystems. His time here became short-lived when talks of building on the untouched land across the basin came to fruition.
The basin would soon no longer be untouched, no longer be secluded. Instead of waking up to a view of the basin and the flourishing life that was housed there, his gaze would be met with a horizon line of cookie-cutter condos. Doe is no longer sure if this plan is still in action, but it was enough to scare him away from the homeland that his family has had in their name for years.
Marquette, Michigan seen from Mount Marquette (Wikipedia)
Now, Doe lives in Harvey, right outside of Marquette. It was the only affordable option as Marquette keeps growing and housing rates keep rising. He assumes that soon Harvey will not be an affordable place to live either.
Doe has a different view on the mass exodus to the UP; “I would hesitate to call people climigrants. They are probably privileged individuals who are moving because the UP is nice and affordable for them. I wouldn't say they are climate change refugees by any means, as much as they are just wealthy people who want a change of scenery.”
“A lot of out-of-state companies and developers are coming here to get their slice so that when the real mass of climate refugees come, the elitists will own all the property and they will rent it out and make a killing,” Doe claims. “It's gonna stay a class thing, rich climigrants and poor climigrants. Rich people will get first picks of where they wanna be, they're gonna own everything, poor people are going to rent everything. Anytime there is a panic of mass exodus there are going to be people who will capitalize off of it. It upsets me being a local and seeing this happen. A lot of friends and families, myself included, can no longer afford to live in the town they grew up in. We are being forced to move to towns outside of Marquette.”
Lithograph of K Street in the city of Sacramento, California, during the Great Flood of 1862 (Wikipedia)
Tyler Watson, a Northern Michigan University alum, studied in the biology program. He gained a plethora of insight on climate change during his academic career, especially the effect it will have on the UP and the Midwest. Originally from New York, Tyler wishes to travel post-grad, but ultimately plans on returning to Marquette to plant his roots once his journeys come to a halt.
“I gained a lot of scary insight on the way the world is heading while studying here at Northern,” Watson stated. “For instance, the Sacramento Valley sometimes turns into an inland sea. Every 160 years there tends to be a massive flood in California that fills up the entire Central Valley. In 1865, this flood killed one percent of the state's population. Changes like these often occur on a perfect cycle, but these cycles are being sped up due to climate change.”
We’ve seen the outbreak of forest fires firsthand that are directly affecting California and the West, which is in turn causing a force of people to leave and move to the ‘untouched’ Midwest. According to Watson, this dry period will eventually turn into a wet period, causing a further drive of migration to the Midwest because of inevitable flooding in the West.
“Lake Superior is home to 10 percent of the world's freshwater,” Watson claimed. “If you add up all the Great Lakes, it accounts for 21 percent of the world's fresh water. This makes the Midwest an increasingly desirable place for people to live with the way the world is going. We have an untouched ecosystem and the forests are well preserved.”
With the Midwest, specifically, the UP, posed to be most desirable in which to reside, Watson does see some issues that will result from the inevitable mass migration to the Midwestern states.
“With a consistency of citizens moving to the Midwest, especially the Upper Peninsula, this will increase land degradation and result in cutting down our untouched forests for modern development. I foresee trash ending up in our clean-water lakes, not enough jobs for placement, not enough local food production. We already have a short season to grow, we will see an increase in shipments and shipment facilities.”
Climate change = more climate refugees. Melbourne Global climate strike on Sep 20, 2019 (John Englart)
In a world where the fabric of our environment is ever-changing, the tale of climigrants moving to the Midwest in search of sanctuary from the harsh realities of climate change paints a vivid picture of our times. This has echoed through the state capital, with a discussion in Detroit during the 2022 Michigan Tech Week of founders from across the state sharing steadfast agreement that the climate changes would drive changes in the economy, business activity, and early predictions at the rate and rise of climate refugees. In the heart of Motor City, Michigan members of industry recognized the need to support mass transit, equitable actions in preservation & development, and that these demands will occur whether we are ready or not.
The role of space exploration in understanding and combating climate change has never been more critical. On September 14, 2023, NASA announced that July 2023 was the hottest month on record since 1880. This served as a stark reminder of the escalating climate crisis. The data gathered by Earth-observing instruments aboard the space station offer invaluable insights into our planet's changing climate, guiding our responses to this global challenge.
Amid these converging crises, KMI stands at the intersection of space innovation. As we forge ahead in the aerospace sector, KMI is not only contributing to our understanding of space sustainability but is also creating aerospace jobs that support sustainable development in the expanding Midwest. The majority of KMI Space Rangers are local hires wishing to stay in the area, and do their part to improve our planet. Our efforts underscore a commitment to leveraging space for Earth's benefit, ensuring that as humanity explores the stars, we remain grounded in our responsibility to our planet.
This map depicts global temperature anomalies for meteorological summer in 2023 (June, July, and August). It shows how much warmer or cooler different regions of Earth were compared to the baseline average from 1951 to 1980. (NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin)
Whether you understand the components of climate change or not, current events in the US prove that the world is changing, fast. People are moving to the Midwest, and it’s happening now. Locals are scared, new arrivals are hopeful, and everyone else is watching it unfold before their eyes.
As we gaze into the future, the narrative of climigrants and the Midwest's transformation is both hopeful and haunting. The challenges are immense, but so too are the opportunities for innovation, resilience, and unity. In the face of climate change, our collective action can carve out a path to a sustainable future. The journey is fraught with uncertainty, but together, we can navigate the complexities of this new frontier, ensuring that the Midwest, and our world, remain a haven for generations to come.
Please note the views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the individuals quoted. Quotes and thoughts shared by individuals are their own and should not be viewed as representations of KMI’s beliefs or endorsements.
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