2030-2035

• The Colorado River Basin has finally hit its breaking point. Lake Mead's waters have receded beyond critical infrastructure, leaving intake pipes exposed and hydroelectric generation crippled. Major Southwestern cities now operate under military-enforced water rationing, while emergency pipelines crisscross the desert in desperate attempts to maintain basic supply to urban centers.
• America's breadbasket is shifting northward at an unprecedented rate. California's Central Valley operates at half capacity, while Midwestern grain production falters under extreme weather patterns. Grocery stores have normalized rationing of fresh produce, with prices now consuming up to 40% of average household incomes in affected areas. Food security, once taken for granted, has become a primary national security concern. -Coastal retreat has moved from theory to necessity. Major insurers have abandoned the Southeast and parts of the Eastern Seaboard entirely. Miami Beach stands partially abandoned, while Norfolk's naval operations require constant emergency engineering. The term "coastal property" has shifted from asset to liability across most southern maritime regions.
• Infrastructure failure has become routine rather than exceptional. Summer blackouts roll predictably across the nation as power grids fail under extreme heat. Transportation systems designed for cooler climates buckle regularly, while urban underground systems flood with growing frequency. Emergency repairs now consume the majority of municipal budgets in vulnerable regions.
• The financial sector has been forced to acknowledge climate reality. Property values in vulnerable zones have collapsed, triggering cascading municipal bankruptcies. Agricultural lending has consolidated around shrinking zones of viable farmland, while previously stable regions scramble to manage explosive growth. Climate solvency now determines investment patterns more than traditional economic indicators.
• A great migration reshapes the nation's demographic map. Phoenix's outer suburbs lie abandoned while northern "climate haven" cities like Duluth and Buffalo struggle with unprecedented growth. Rural communities across the South and West face extinction-level population loss. The climate refugee crisis, long predicted, has become domestic rather than foreign.
• Government capacity has been overwhelmed at every level. FEMA operates in perpetual triage mode, while state governments openly abandon outlying areas to concentrate resources around survivable population centers. The term "sacrifice zones" has entered official policy documents, marking regions deemed too costly to save. Interstate water conflicts now prompt military response rather than legal arbitration.