The Global Consequences of Global Warming

I get a range of comments on my blog at GlobalWarmingisReal, everything from support to derision. One disgruntled commenter wanted to know what was so bad about global warming if it meant he didn’t have to spend as much keeping his family warm in winter.

Of course our families and those we love come first, but to think that some feel climate change is merely a means of saving on a winter’s heating bill is disheartening.

Other than a profound lack of understanding on the issue, it displays, in my mind, a disturbing misperception of the global consequences of our modern society. The actions each one of us take and decisions we make spread far beyond our immediate world.

The effects of global warming will hit hardest those who are least responsible and least able to adequately respond.

Africa is already experiencing severe drought, leading to a sharp decrease in crop yield. In a region already plagued by political unrest and poverty, global warming is now suspected as the principal cause behind much of the failed crops and consequent food shortage. The World Bank estimates that 7 million people have been forced to migrate in sub-Saharan Africa due to resource scarcity. As global warming intensifies, the situation in Africa will only get worse.

Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest nations, is already extremely vulnerable to storm surges and faces potential devastation from rising seas due to climate change.

The Pacific Island of Tuvalu will likely sink beneath the waves completely, displacing an entire nation.

Africa, Bangladesh, and Tuvalu are just three examples – a continent, a country, and a Pacific atoll – of societies that are responsible for but a fraction of the carbon emission driving global warming yet destined to suffer inordinately because of it.

It is simply the situation we now face. I believe it is of little use for us to wallow in guilt, but much more so of accepting responsibility and acknowledging awareness.

The gentleman that believed the only consequence of global warming was a lower heating bill lacked both a sense of global responsibility and awareness.

It isn’t called global warming for nothing.

I am encouraged by Jyles' last post describing how people from all over the world are awakening to the environmental challenges we face. All of us here on this one planet.

It is my hope that more and more of my fellow Americans – and our leaders – will follow suit and realize that we are, after all, in this together.

Sources and Further Reading
TuvaluIslands.com
Wikipedia: Tuvalu Islands
Grida.no
Softpedia.com: The effects of global warming on Africa
ScienceAlert.com.au

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The Global Consequences of Global Warming

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