What do you think America will be like in 50 years?

The U.S. Population, from around 320 million today, reaches over 500 billion.

Major cities are teeming with people who find it even harder to afford housing and competing desperately for the available service/retail jobs not replaced by automated self-serve kiosks. Most of the remaining decent jobs held by those with connections - friends, family, etc. similar to trade union jobs today. An underclass exists, consisting mostly of climate and economic refugees from other countries.

Those who cannot afford to live in the cities reside in more rural areas, where the majority of the population live in extended families sharing money received by the government, and growing food in kitchen gardens and homesteads.

All USDA agricultural zones have shifted dramatically compared to 2016. For example, the climate in New Hampshire in 2016 is like that of New York in 1966. By 2066, conditions in Vermont will be like like conditions were in South Carolina in 1966. The Ogallala aquifer which allowed irrigation of the Midwest across parts of Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. was already drying out in some areas in 2016. By 2066, almost all farmers in the area are either doing dry land farming, or kicked out by a major Dustbowl greater than experienced during the Great depress.

Much of lower Florida is partially abandoned. While sea level rise hasn't been an issue, aquifer penetration/salinization (due to Florida's unique geography) has devastated tomato farms, citrus groves, etc. and made obtaining fresh tap water impossible... While storm surges from more numerous, more powerful hurricanes means entire cities are flooded multiple times per year. The "canary in the coal mine" was the 2025 disaster at Turkey Point, when Hurricane Vito causes such strong storm surges, water inundated the plant, creating a second "Fukushima".

Speaking of storm surges, several Louisiana parishes received the same fate as lower Florida. New Orleans is still barely clinging on, only due to unprecedented civil engineering paid for by massive Federal subsidies. Major cities like New York and Washington, D.C. soldier on, protected by massive sea walls and artificial breakers. Many smaller low-lying coastal communities along the Eastern Seaboard and along the Gulf of Mexico are abandoned.

The predominant fuel in 2066 is coal. But mostly brown coal, still abundant and cheap. Miners suffer across the Appalachians, but it is what powers the nation. People travel by steam trains, or charge electric vehicles from hydro or coal, or walk or bicycle/tricycle because oil expensive. Only the military and the rich still use the remaining petroleum. Numerous nuclear reactors located along shorelines have been decommissioned, since Turkey Point. There is renewable energy infrastructure, but mostly small-scale and installed and owned and serviced by the same power plant utilities. Most homes can run entirely on solar for lights, powering portable electronic devices, and for solar water heating.

/r/AskReddit Thread