“We don’t notice a thing”

Ok the images of New York are amazing!! For once I was enjoying looking at the pictures and reading without feeling overwhelmed by the bombardment of scientific facts. One of the images the struck me was the one on page 251 with the people staring at the TVs. There are so many catastrophes occurring all over the world, but do we notice them? No, of course we don’t because they take place in poor countries so we don’t think climate change is to blame.

Squarzoni described something called rural exodus which is when people from farming areas move to cities because agriculture can no longer support them. These people move into cities looking for jobs that do not exist. Rural exodus will cause an increase in the population in cities that cannot be maintained. There will not be enough running water and no sanitation which will lead to illnesses. I never thought of this, but nonetheless it is a serious problem.

In many places, species are migrating, plants are disappearing, and insects are shifting to different areas. Ecosystems are going to suffer from climatic disruptions. Certain insects are moving into places where the inhabitants are not immunized to the diseases they carry. This can cause 220 to 400 million people being exposed to malaria, yellow fever, lyme disease, etc. Water- borne diseases will also be spread because when there is a drought, contaminated water is more likely to be consumed. Water will become scarce, like in Memory of Water and people will get sick more frequently. Biodiversity will also decrease causing a lack of variety in the ecosystems.  What if a disease affects one of the world’s largest crop like grain? We would have to find a a variety of wheat that is resistant to that disease, but what if that variety doesn’t exist? Then we have a serious issue. So, basically:

Rich Biodiversity = Resilience = Happy people

Climate change = Lack of diversity

Lack of diversity = problems with crops aka our FOOD = Not so happy people

Climate change = DEATH = No people

I’m glad I left you on a happy note.