Climate Migration and the Great Lakes | North Coast Chronicles

June 1, 2022

How will climate migration change the Great Lakes?

North Coast Chronicles investigates the Great Lakes as a climate haven with the May episode, "Climate Migration and the Great Lakes." with Ms. Rachel Jaocbson, Deputy Director of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals.  Will the climate amenities of the Great Lakes pull people from the four corners of the U.S. under increasing climate change impacts?  Migration drivers incorporate the "pull" factors related to jobs, family and cultural interests, but also the "push" factors related to loss of job and natural disasters. In 2017, 5,000 migrants from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria moved to the self-defined "climate haven" of Buffalo, NY.  But, what are the true impacts of a migration influx and how does the Great Lakes region attend, first, to the current and real threats from climate change?

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Helen Brohl

Helen Brohl is a Great Lakes gal, having grown up on the south shore of Lake Erie and a lifetime of summers on Middle Bass Island. Helen understands the Great Lakes as a valuable resource with a Master's Degree from The Ohio State University in Great Lakes Land and Water Use Policy and as an economic engine for the nation with almost 40 years of experience in maritime transportation and trade development. Helen previously worked as professional staff on the U.S. Congressional House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, with NOAA's Office of Coast Management, did trade development for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, was the Director of Marketing for the Port of Chicago, the Executive Director of the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association, and retired in January 2023 after almost 17 years as the Executive Director of the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System in Washington, DC. Follow along as Helen shares the nature, folk lore, and charm of the Great Lakes!