The Equatorial Badlands
As temperatures around the world get higher, the countries closer to the equator will produce less food by the end of the century. In fact the center for global development is predicting a global loss in agriculture, but the closer to the equator, the higher the loss becomes.
The countries near the equator are mainly developing nations already struggling for survival. Africa, which often suffers from famine, drought and disease, will potentially loose between 17 to 20% of its agricultural production, perpetuating the vast difference in wealth from the third world to the industrial nations.
Given an increasing global population, the numbers can only add up to more disparity among people, leading to more wars and violence.
The good news is that there may still be time to stop the worst from happening. If people, as well as countries, start being more energy conscious it’s possible to slow this process down. If we all think about our actions daily, we can have an effect.
Tweet- 10-1-07
- Bill Briscoe's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
Comments
Nice balance
The Good News
I love that bit of Reality Sandwich optmism dutifully tacked on to the end of your post, Bill. Lets all roll up our sleeves and...walk to the shop! Buisness as usual.
Where does this sort of optimism become delusional? Can the peoples of the equatorial regions rest assured that we are going to change our behaviour, and therefore they will be ok? Should they? Probably not. They should migrate if possible.
Perhaps the positivist approach is a tacit admission that we need a miracle. Is that the real good news? That miracles happen? They do, but unfortunately not always when we demand them. Optimist that I am however, I'm training to become a miracle worker, since I already do the stuff your link mentions - walk to the shop, don't heat my home, avoid meat etc etc etc