I remember my granddad always saying, “If you want to get rich, invest in land. The price of land always goes up.” But that was before we heard about Global Warming, Granddad. I bet he would have something snarky to say about that, though. He was a pretty smart guy. Maybe he would tell me to buy the kind of land that would still be valuable after all the other land was ruined.
Global Warming is crushing the value of land in two ways. First, it is creating more desert land in North America and Africa. Maybe this is happening in Asia too but I don’t know.
Second, as sea levels rise more land is dropping under the waves. It’s like we’re in Atlantis and it is sinking again. And this has all happened before.
As land values drop around the world there must be a corresponding rise in other land values. Rare, high-value property that won’t be flooded or run dry should become more valuable and more expensive over time.
But there are other ways Global Warming will affect our economy. We are developing new technologies to deal with the consequences of Global Warming. Maybe those technologies will lead to new industries that can create jobs and opportunities, but we have to find the means to invest in them.
I think two likely industries are tree-planting or forestification and desalination plants. If we can invest enough time and money in planting new forests and bringing fresh water to them we’ll be able to rehabilitate lands all around the world. That could be a good thing for everyone.
Of course, conservationists may start complaining that we are destroying natural deserts but I think the deserts don’t really go away. They just get dressed up with greenery every few thousand years.