winterland in Boston 2012

I took this picture over five years ago. This is what snow looks like.  We've had precious little of it in the Boston area this year, and for the record, I don't miss it. I'm starting to look at my garden bed with a sense of anticipation, and I'm mildly worried about the daffodils that are starting push their way out of the ground around the house.

How would development and settlement patterns change in New England if winters started to get consistently milder? Energy costs would still be higher than in the Sun Belt states, but summers here would always be more bearable for outdoor activities--unless precipitation increases.

This line of inquiry demonstrates that despite advances in interior environmental technology, the climates of areas determines the type of architecture and the density of development. While I don't think that any modern society could be destroyed by a series of bad droughts--supply lines are robust enough to compensate for that--a persistently bad climate will drive people to nicer places.