We know the impending consequences of climate change, but we didn’t the exact scale or how long until these consequences would take to set it. The truth is that the effects of climate change are happening this very moment and at a higher rate than previously predicted, reported Rolling Stone.
Heat waves have melted streets in India, shutting down power grids, sustaining droughts, and climbing temperatures are melting the polar ice caps, which raises sea levels. James Hansen, former climatologist with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), said that he and other climatologists have discovered that current climate trends forecast that sea levels could rise 10-times faster than previously thought, 10 feet by 2065.
“We conclude that multi-meter sea-level rise would become practically unavoidable,” said Hansen. “Social disruption and economic consequences of such large sea-level rise could be devastating. It is not difficult to imagine that conflicts arising from forced migrations and economic collapse might make the planet ungovernable, threatening the fabric of civilization.”
Hansen’s forecast of global instability isn’t the first of its kind. The U.S. Department of Defense has declared climate change a national security threat and the Center for Naval Analyses Corporation Military Advisory Board released a comprehensive report outlining why climate change poses a threat to global stability.
“The [2012] insurrection in Mali where the Tuareg went north — drought caused that,” said retired Brigadier General Stephen Cheney. “It dried up their crops, they had to move, and they had to make a living. They went to northern Mali, and that started the insurrection there. We know for a fact, obviously, that climate change contributed to that drought. That’s just one example of instability that was caused by climate change.”
Climate change is already creating dangerous conditions for humans and animals alike. Water tables aren’t replenishing at sustainable rates, and droughts are plaguing the world. This is only the beginning. Something needs to happen now.
