Tanada wrote:asg70 wrote:Ibon wrote:Come on down!
Global warming is such that if I move it's going to be towards the poles, not the equator.
I considered Alaska but concluded somewhere in the mountain tropics like Columbia or Uganda or New Guinea would probably be a better choice as the paleo record shows all of them were abundant with life no matter if it was greenhouse conditions or major glaciation. Being in the mountains where the prevailing winds bring rain on a predictable schedule and with tropical sun at moderate to high altitude these places have always been abodes of life since green plants colonized the surface.
This line of inquiry derails a bit the topic of this thread but if any of you are like me that might not be a bad idea.... but maybe these posts of more livable areas when climate change advances could be moved to an appropriate thread.
Tropical latitudes are very stable. One of the theories about why the biodiversity is so much greater in tropical latitudes is exactly because of how stable the climate remains through time as more northern latitudes pulse between ice sheets cleaning the slate and more warm periods. Fossil pollen in ancient lake beds of the Amazon basin indicate the main fluctuation is with rain fall, ice age periods correspond with more grass pollen, warmer periods with pollen from more broad leaf plants.
Highland areas of the tropics will of course go through changes. The geology of the Talamanca mountains where we are located shows evidence of glaciation during the last ice age in the highest regions in bordering Costa RIca.
Highland areas are like islands. the most extensive areas are in the Andes region of South America. From far western Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia down into Chile has extensive highland valleys. These are some of the most endangered habitats today because of how productive these regions are for agriculture and they have been largely exploited. When you go into a flower shop in North America more than likely the flowers you purchase were grown in Colombia above 2500m (8000+ feet)
The asset at our location at 6500 feet is that the Pacific ocean is only 40 miles away. This distance from the coast to the highest region can be considered local and the advantage is the diveristy of agriculture you can grow within the elevation gradient that is so close together. Rice, sugar cane, coconuts, cashews on the coast, slightly inland bananas, plantain and sweet, papayas, pineapples. Another 1000 feet up you get yucca, casava, cacao, mangoes, rambutans, mangosteens, guanabana, guavas, breadfruit, lowland avocados. Another 1000 feet you start being in the productive grasslands for dairy farms, growing yams, corn, kidney beans. And then you reach above 4000 feet and you get into the temperate vegetable zone of broccoli, onions, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, strawberries, raspberries, green beans, etc. This zone extends up to our location where you can grow coffee along with all these temperate vegetables and high elevation Hass type avocados. And above all of this is cloud forest up to 10,000 feet. Paramo grasslands are represented only on the highest ridge tops unlike the Andes which has extensive Paramo all the way up to snow line. Paramo is like tropical alpine habitat,
Whatever variation climate change delivers you got this close by elevation gradient to shift crops accordingly.
The rose family stone crop is the only tree food crop missing; peaches, apples, pears, plums, apricots, nectarines. THe lack of cold winter prevents these tree crops from thriving. You can grow a pear or apple tree as we have but you just get a few anemic fruit that are inferior quality.
Temperate range year round is constant at our location Low of 58-60, highs around 80. Perfect temperature. No insulation required for building and no energy needed to heat dwellings.
Our 8KW pelton wheel delivers all the energy we need even when we have 25 guests maxed out. We do use propane for cooking and a few of our hot water tanks are propane.
I would say the biggest risk of severe climate change is the migration of large populations from coastal areas invading the highlands. Think coastal Guayaquil Ecuador with 3 million inhabitants putting the highland areas under pressure with mass migration.
For those in the USA that do not feel adventurous to relocate in another country my number one recommendation? Duluth Minnesota.
Patiently awaiting the pathogens. Our resiliency resembles an invasive weed. We are the Kudzu Ape
blog: http://blog.mounttotumas.com/
website: http://www.mounttotumas.com