Just this week, the President tweeted suggesting that the cold weather the country faces is because climate change has deserted us and we need it back. The spread of willful misinformation is not just bad politics, it’s also very dangerous.
Studies show the countries most affected by climate change are the ones who are the least responsible for it. The impacts of climate change affect every country on every continent. The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts threaten food supplies, drive people from their homes, separate families & jeopardize livelihoods. All of these effects increase the risk of conflict, hunger, and poverty.
As climate change-induced events become more and more frequent, floods will displace communities, leaving them in search of shelter. As the sea levels continue to rise, communities near the coasts will be forced to move. Changes brought on by deforestation, overgrazing, and drought will continue to destroy crops and kill livestock. Farmers and their families will be forced to move to find new work and new land. All the while, one third of the planets land is no longer fertile enough to grow food.
One of the biggest reasons for deforestation is to create more land for crops and agriculture, but deforestation also drives climate change. Forest soils are moist, but without protection from tree cover, they quickly dry out. Trees help perpetuate the water cycle by returning water vapor to the atmosphere. Without trees to fill these roles, many former forest lands can quickly become barren deserts which, dramatically changes the ecosystems that have been flourishing for centuries.
Climate change places compounded stress on our environment, as well as our economic, social and political systems. No matter the form, climate change undermines development gains and leads to shortages in basic necessities, especially for the poor.
Nearly everywhere I look in the (white) world there seems to be an issue with immigrants. Whether it Great Britain, America, Denmark, or Australia, the fear stems from far-right populist ideals.
So it makes me wonder when these nations are inhabitable because of the greed of corporations who continue to feed the notion that climate change is not real, and if it is, it is the fault of the individual, so therefore the individual must combat it herself. But no amount of recycling that I, an individual, can do will ever alleviate the impact of the 100 companies who are responsible for 71% of global emissions since 1988.
We’re too far gone for significant change to be made by the individuals, and the corporate government in place refuses to act in the best interest of our combined future. And so when these nations are no longer inhabitable, who will offer them refuge?