Thursday, February 11, 2010

Refugees of Nature

Twelve out the last fourteen years the Earth’s temperature has hit record highs. There is a debate over the cause of the temperature increase. On one side, some scientists believe that humans are to blame for the increase in temperature. Some scientists on the other side simply believe the change deals with the Earth’s natural cycles, in which the Earth goes through periodic temperature increases and decreases. One side could be right, the other side could be wrong, or they both may be wrong; however, right now the Earth’s temperature is above normal, and massive effects are being felt all over the world. Over this time frame of increased temperatures, the Earth’s population has seen a rise in natural disasters. Hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters are wreaking havoc on the population. The problem only starts with the disaster itself; the aftermath poses many more potential problems.

After every major disaster, whether it is natural or manmade, there is a population displacement of that area’s citizens. According to an Environmental Justice Foundation study, 20 million people were displaced in 2008. The majority came from Asian nations, following cyclone Nargis, in which 800,000 people had to be evacuated and could not return home because the area was completely destroyed. A similar situation happened following hurricane Katrina; the city of New Orleans was devastated, and many residents were displaced and relocated to surrounding states. Natural disasters are a normal occurrence. They happen every year and affect millions of people. After any major natural disaster there will be a displaced population, but there is an additional problem in the frequency of the major natural disasters. With the increase of the Earth’s overall temperature, the sheer numbers of catastrophic hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, and floods have increased steadily every year, and they are getting worse.

Cyclones in the Pacific and hurricanes in the Atlantic are getting stronger, droughts are lasting longer, floods are affecting larger populations, and heat waves are killing everything from plants to people. The effects of global warming, weather cyclical or manmade, are being felt now. It is true that most predictions talk about the increased temperature’s effect on our children and their children, but they are already being felt by those living today. It is projected that between now and the year 2050, 150 million people will have lost their homes due to natural disasters, caused primarily from climate change.

Obviously climate change is an important topic in Washington, D.C.. Climate change is a great political tool to help sell your party’s beliefs and win votes. But, climate change should be on the minds of every person. 150 million displaced individuals have to re-establish themselves somewhere, the victims of Katrina settled all over the southeastern United States affecting every aspect of life from school and jobs, to food consumption and traffic congestion. With increased population sizes from the addition of the displaced mass a weaker or smaller job market for the established residents follows. Also, with a higher population comes more pollution, which in turn exacerbates climate change leading to more potential problems, whether health related or climate related. Global Warming is causing problems now, problems that may only get worse with time unless major changes occur.

Joshua Wyatt, Legal Intern

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