It seems like we may never be able to give peace a chance. Just as political correctness has become old hat and tolerance becomes a condition of living in this global village, just as soon as technology has given us the most impressive entertainment ever, it seems we humans are being reduced back to our former primitive state of fighting over food and water. According to British Defense Secretary John Reid, it's official: the era of resource wars is upon us. With global warming, increasing population and consumption up to record levels, the bounty of the earth is becoming scarce and can be likened to the booty of pirates of old. The article focuses not on the popular conception that the human role in altering the planet's basic climate system is the only problem but that there is a trend to think farther into the social implications the shortage of resources will have in future conflicts. And as environmental problems persist, natural disasters make very clear the limits in which we are able to aid those in need. In the face of such calamity, Reid says, we have two choices: we can rely on our military power to secure a degree of advantage in the global struggle over resources, or we can work towards reducing the risk of CCC, or in other words, Cataclysmic Climate Change. He believes there are many in the United States who would tout the superiority of the military power but such instruments become ineffectual when an inconclusive war in Iraq or a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina strikes. In addition, the threat of nuclear power looms on the horizon as countries scramble to claim what resources they can. This article appeals to everyone and especially world leaders who have the power to direct the power of their countries. I wholeheartedly agree with Reid that ultimately, "our only hope of a safe and secure future lies in substantially reducing our emissions of greenhouses gases and working with the rest of the world to slow the pace of global climate change.
Precis by Brett Tapia
1 comments:
I wrote a precis on the same article last week, but because I am a bona fide ding bat, I could not figure out how to post it on the blog, so here it is as a comment:
The Coming Resource Wars
Micaheal T. Klare
By V.Maidhof
In the article “The Coming Resource Wars” author Michael Klare writes about the eventual resource wars that are going to occur between countries when climate change causes natural resources to dwindle to a dangerous low. Violence and destruction among civilizations is inevitable because the sea level is rising and supple land shifts into desert. John Reid, the British defense secretary warns: “the emergence of violent conflict more rather than less likely.” Serious warnings have been occurring for some time. In 2003 a California firm did a report for the United States National Security. The report warned that the effects of climate change would most likely hit with a series of huge disasters rather than a slow, gradual change that could be managed. The article does not state who this “firm” was so immediately wondered “who are they, are they being paid a lot of money? Is it possible there is an agenda behind what they published? But this information still succeeded in frightening me quite a bit. It’s enough to make a person reconsider ever procreating. Apparently, Untied States and British policy makers still agree and insist that religious/ideological differences are the main source for conflict, rather that the potential lack for natural resources. Poor countries will get the brunt of the blow when environmental disasters occur because they are already lacking clean water in many places, but there is the risk that a giant migration could occur to wealthier countries as people become desperate to survive. Bottom line if resource wars occur, they most likely more severe than any effects that the climate has on survival because natural gasses and oil will not be readily available, resulting in the use of nuclear power to fight wars.
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