Climate change to force mass migration?

Question

· 1bn likely to be displaced by 2050, says report
· Environmental factors will exacerbate existing crisis

John Vidal, environment editor
Monday May 14, 2007
The Guardian


"A billion people - one in seven people on Earth today - could be forced to leave their homes over the next 50 years as the effects of climate change worsen an already serious migration crisis, a new report from Christian Aid predicts.
The report, which is based on latest UN population and climate change figures, says conflict, large-scale development projects and widespread environmental deterioration will combine to make life unsupportable for hundreds of millions of people, mostly in the Sahara belt, south Asia and the Middle East."

Whoa! What do you think about that? How's that for the effects of global warming? ( 0 _ o ) Scary!

Well Mr. Indignant, I didn't initially give you a thumbs down, but because of your "tude" I decided to give you one. Now you go and use your brain! : )

Answer 1

In 43 years, President George W. Bush will be 103 (104 after July 6th), if he is still above ground. Since he is already demented, by that time he should be completely divorced from reality. What does he care if a billion people are roaming the planet, starving and displaced because of man-made Global Warming?
Heck, he doesn't even like his kids much. A bunch of strangers in Saharan Africa? That won't even make him blink fast.
So thanks to this Administration's policies, the USA continues to resist taking any steps to reduce greenhouse gases, setting the [bad]example for the rest of the world.
God preserve us from those scary Republicans.

Answer 2

It seems the course of prudence. If 1/2 of Manhatten island is flooded, that could easily trigger challenges to the national security. New Orleans is another obvious case as is Central Florida. Hurricanes could become unmanageable by the National Guard, and require deployment of regular Army and Marines to maintain civil order. It's a function of water temperatures in the Atlantic and in the Gulf. Alliances of effected foreign nations could crop up in unexpected ways giving rise to outlandish votes and resolutions in the UN, or decisions by the World Court, or even military or terrorist action aimed at the USA and others. Anything that creates mass movements of peoples, or large numbers of homeless and displaced persons can be a national security threat. If there are wildfires on the West coast, for example, or if the Great Lakes were to overflow (or dry up). Freshwater shortages could cause massive civil unrest. The thin blue line is astonishingly thin. Add up all the cops plus the national guard, and the bottom line is that USA's good conduct is on the "Honor System", which barely works in our Service Academies and Ivy League Colleges, much less in the big tough cities. I've seen the Army get called out. I've seen quad 50's set up on the steps of the U.S. Capitol (that's four 50 mm machine guns linked in tandem to a single trigger). I've seen tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue. If you live long enough, you see a LOT of things. So, some older people have more imagination than kids do about what CAN happen -- kids that have seen everything in the past 20 years -- don't really know that much. So, my hat's off to DOD and CIA if they say "Let's not be caught asleep at the switch this time, lilke we usually are." It's lawful for government bureaucrats to earn their pay. Doesn't happen much, but when it does, we should give applause, not brikbats.

Answer 3

since 60% of the global population live in or near a coastal area, the scenario above is possible unless the melting of antarctic and greenland land ice accelerates the projected rise in sea levels. other impacts could delay it but the trend is definitely there.

before that, however, you will see migrations based on changes in climate that force agricultural land to move as temperatures and rainfall patterns change.

humans can adapt to these changes better than animals because they have the technology to alter their surroundings (life air conditioning and heating in developed nations) but the animals are already migrating or becoming extinct and we are bound to follow at least the migration part over then next few hundred years,

Answer 4

It will be like that movie "Day After Tomorrow" where all of the United States tries to move to Mexico. Except without the people getting really lucky by having Dennis Quaid find them in time. Or the girl with the leg stuck in between the taxis - yeah, she would have drowned.

Answer 5

I think that out of "conflict, large-scale development projects and widespread environmental deterioration" the worst is conflict, AKA war. Global warming is not even mentioned, except as an implied part of "environmental deterioration".

Answer 6

What ever we do, let's make sure we do not migrate to Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, or Triton.

Scientific research concludes that there is global warming on those worlds too. Almost as if it is like the sun who is causing us to warm up. Because we know the sun hasn't been more active and giving off more radiation in the last fifty years than it has in 1,000 or anything.

Or maybe, there are people on all of those worlds, and they have big SUV's too?

Come on people, use your brains!

Answer 7

First it is probably exaggeration and fear mongering but lets assume that it is real. How many people are going to live in the same home for next 50 years? Do you think more than one in seven might move? Does that seem like a real catastrophe to you? Mostly it is about people from a socialist agenda trying to push that agenda by scaring people like you. You can chose to believe them or ignore them. Frankly I think you would be wise to ignore them.

Answer 8

Global Warming is really scary---terrifying. What are we doingggg? For gosh sakes. Every article I've read on Global Warming has been scary.

Answer 9

That's true! People will be forced to migrate to higher lands, because oceans will rise as a concecuence of global warming. Also, drinking water and food resources will be scarced so people will need to move to places were they can find more food and water.

According to scientist places that are very cold right now, like greenland and the poles will be like a tropical island, so maybe we will have to move to that kind of places.

Its sad what we are doing to our planet because our ignorance and lack of will to make changes...

Answer 10

You call that bad? The Griffith park fire caused NINE OUT OF TEN people who lived near the park to evacuate. Eeyohh!