Few studies have yet focused on communications strategies for moving persons from climate endangered areas of their home country to safer areas within the country. The present study develops a communications plan for moving endangered California residents to safer areas in the Appalachian Mountain Region. Presently, over 24 million US residents live in Southern California. During the past five years, they have faced increasingly damaging events attributable to climate change. Among these are wildfires, droughts, floods, and landslides which have caused billions of dollars in damages. It is vital that these residents be moved to a safer, more habitable location within the United States. The Virginia Highlands can serve as a re-location area for 2,300,000 of these Americans. We present a multi-media communications campaign for attracting these California residents to the Virginia Highlands and simultaneously preparing current Virginia Highlands residents for their arrival.
KeywordsClimate Change Haven CommunitiesUnited States Internal MigrationClimate Change Communications
The Conversation (2025) Global Warming of More Than 3°C This Century May Wipe 40% off the World’s Economy, New Analysis Reveals. https://www.reddit.com/r/climatechange/comments/1jooywz/global_warming_of_more_than_3c_this_century_may/ https://theconversation.com/global-warming-of-more-than-3-c-this-century-may-wipe-40-off-the-worlds-economy-new-analysis-reveals-253032
Global Witness (2025) UK Households Facing £3,000 Climate Damage Costs This Year. https://globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/uk-households-facing-3000-climate-damage-costs-this-year/
Science Daily (2024) Substantial Global Cost of Climate Inaction. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240417131103.htm
Jordan, R. (2021) How Does Climate Change Affect Migration? Stanford Doerr. https://sustainability.stanford.edu/news/how-does-climate-change-affect-migration
Omolere, M.P. (2025) Climate Migration: A Multidimensional Challenge Requiring Global Action. https://earth.org/climate-migration-a-multidimensional-challenge-requiring-global-action/
Davies, D. (2024) How Climate-Driven Migration Could Change the Face of the U.S. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/26/1239904742/how-climate-driven-migration-could-change-the-face-of-the-u-s
States at Risk. U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. https://toolkit.nemac.org/tool/states-risk
Lai, C. (2023) The Worst States for Climate Change in the US. Earth.ORG https://earth.org/worst-states-for-climate-change/
Climate Check. Top Climate Change Risks: Heat, Precipitation, Fire. https://climatecheck.com/texas
EPA (2016) What Climate Change Means for Texas. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/climate-change-tx.pdf
Herald, M. (2025) Rising Tides and Fires: Seven Climate Stories Shaping Florida. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article303934981.html
EPA (2016) What Climate Change Means for Florida. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-08/documents/climate-change-fl.pdf
California Climate Adaptation Strategy. Summary of Projected Climate Change Impacts on California https://climateresilience.ca.gov/overview/impacts.html
Borkotoky, M. (2025) Hydroclimate Whiplash: How Climate Change Fuels California’s Cycle of Drought, Deluge, and Devastation. Climate Fact Checks. https://climatefactchecks.org/hydroclimate-whiplash-how-climate-change-fuels-californias-cycle-of-drought-deluge-and-devastation/
Governor of California (2025) Millions of Californians to Get Average of $137 in Credits on Their April Utility Bills Thanks to State’s Climate Program. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/03/18/millions-of-californians-to-get-average-of-137-in-credits-on-their-april-utility-bills-thanks-to-states-climate-program/
Sumagaysay, L. (2025) California Homeowners Will Have to Fund Half of High-Risk Insurer’s $1 Billion ‘Bailout’. CalMatters. https://calmatters.org/economy/2025/02/homeowners-insurance-costs-rising-in-california-fair-plan/
Garcia, K. (2024) California Auto Insurance Rates Are Skyrocketing: Here’s Why and How to Save. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-17/as-auto-insurance-rates-skyrocket-experts-say-maintain-a-relationship-with-your-agent
USA TODAY (2024) California Home Insurance Rates Expected to Rise. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/california/
Van Keuren, M. (2025) Average Cost of Car Insurance in California for 2025. Bank Rate. https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/average-cost-of-car-insurance-in-california/
Gounaridis, D. and Newell, J.P. (2024) The Social Anatomy of Climate Change Denial in the United States. Scientific Reports , 14, Article No. 2097. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50591-6
Mendy, L., Karlsson, M. and Lindvall, D. (2024) Counteracting Climate Denial: A Systematic Review. Public Understanding of Science , 33, 504-520. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625231223425
The Conversation (2025) Climate Change Denial—News, Research and Analysis. https://theconversation.com/topics/climate-change-denial-2057
Cipriani, E., Frumento, S., Gemignani, A. and Menicucci, D. (2024) Personality Traits and Climate Change Denial, Concern, and Proactivity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 95, Article 102277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102277
Nccamp (2024) Inside Los Angeles’s Thriving Tech Hub: Startups and Success Stories. https://www.nucamp.co/blog/coding-bootcamp-los-angeles-ca-inside-los-angeless-thriving-tech-hub-startups-and-success-stories
Hirschman, E.C., Bourgin, W., Chapman, D., Creque, B., Davis, L., Dickson, D., et al . (2025) How Much Will It Cost to Survive Climate Change? Detailed Estimates and AI Imagery for Constructing Climate Change Communities in the Virginia Highlands. Journal of Environmental Protection , 16, 593-626. https://doi.org/10.4236/jep.2025.166031
World Population Review (2025) Public School Rankings by State 2025. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/public-school-rankings-by-state
Scorsone, E., Ferreira, J., Rephann, T. and Scheffel, M. (2025) Virginia’s Economic Forecast, April 2025. Weldon Cooper Center. https://www.coopercenter.org/research/forecast-april-2025
Pare, S. (2025) Major Disruption Has Caused Arctic Polar Vortex to Slide off North Pole, Scientists Say. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/weather/major-disruption-has-caused-arctic-polar-vortex-to-slide-off-north-pole-scientists-say
Severe Weather Europe (2025) Another Arctic Blast for Northeast as Polar Vortex Remnants. https://www-severe--weather-eu.webpkgcache.com/doc/-/s/www.severe-weather.eu/global-weather/polar-vortex-cold-blast-canada-northeast-united-states-april-2025-mk/
Hale, T. (2025) Eastern US and Europe Set to Feel the Sting of a “Major Disruption” to Polar Vortex. https://www.iflscience.com/eastern-us-and-europe-set-to-feel-the-sting-of-a-major-disruption-to-polar-vortex-78706
Echoes of Appalachia (2024) What Defines Appalachian Culture: A Legacy of Strength, Community, and Tradition. https://appalachianmemories.org/2024/12/10/what-defines-appalachian-culture-a-legacy-of-strength-community-and-tradition/
What Is Appalachian Culture? A Journey into a Unique Tradition. https://www.thecollector.com/what-is-appalachian-culture/
California’s Roads—California’s Interstates and Highways Map. https://www.cccarto.com/stateroutes/california/
These Are the Federal Agencies That Have Reduced Their Workforce https://www.wcvb.com/article/trump-federal-workforce