Some days ago, in Washington Post, James R. Lee wrote an important Op-Ed linking the climate crisis and national security. He wrote:
“We’re used to thinking of climate change as an environmental problem, not a military one, but it’s long past time to alter that mindset. Climate change may mean changes in Western lifestyles, but in some parts of the world, it will mean far more. Living in Washington, I may respond to global warming by buying a Prius, planting a tree or lowering my thermostat. But elsewhere, people will respond to climate change by building bomb shelters and buying guns.”
As the effects of the climate crisis become more pronounced, these security threats will continue to grow. Lee’s article does an excellent job of summing up the problem stating:
“For the next two decades or so, the climate will continue to change: Historic levels of built-up greenhouse gases will continue to warm the world — and spin it toward new patterns of conflict. So we need to do more than simply reverse climate change. We need to understand and react to it — ordinary people and governments alike — in ways that avoid conflict. Over the next few years, we may find that climate-change accords and peace treaties start to overlap more and more. And we may find that global warming is heating new conflicts up to the boiling point.”
