GEO 345 Discussion 6
The early industrializing nations, including much of Western Europe and the United States, are
the culprits. These are wealthy nations that are more equipped than developing ones (victims),
like Bangladesh and the Marshall Islands, to deal with sea level rise. However many of the
"victim" or developing nations today produce more emissions than the "perpetrator" or
developed nations. In terms of historical emissions, wealthy nations have generated far more
than those who have only recently started to industrialize, such as China and India.
The early-developing nations released the majority of the greenhouse gases that the Planet can
tolerate throughout the course of their 200 years of unrestricted fossil fuel use. There is mounting
pressure on all nations to set carbon limits since we are now perilously close to uncontrolled
warming. While extraction is the simplest way to kick-start an economy's development,
wealthier countries fiercely discourage this approach, which puts poor countries at a relative
disadvantage. This has prompted suggestions for a "Marshall Plan" for combating climate
change, in which nations with historically high emissions consent to collectively distribute
payments to poorer nations in order to cover the expense of storing their carbon.
Although projections from different groups are different from one another, there is a "high
degree of assurance" concerning sea level rise. Contrary to the argument that accurate figures are
required to deploy the best adaptive strategies, any action is preferable to none. The movies this
week link the effects of sea level rise to more generalized global warming. The variety of effects
(heat waves, water scarcity, flooding, and severe storms) illustrates how the location, nature, and
severity of the consequences of global climate varies.
In a short while of exposure, severe heat can make you feel weak, nauseous, and dizzy. Heat
exhaustion and ultimately heatstroke can develop from prolonged exposure. Pregnant women
who are dehydrated, a condition frequently brought on by heat, may go into labor early. Heat
waves will grow more frequent in already hot locations, putting those without access to air
conditioning at danger. If global warming increases, both the severity and frequency of heat
waves will rise.
In Yemen, rain is falling less often because of rising temperatures. But, when it rains, it is so
powerful that it causes damage. This is a brand-new phenomena because fair rain used to last for
several weeks or months at a time. Water scarcity is becoming one of the main causes of Yemen's
unrest. Trucks bring water to those who can buy it, while others depend on free faucets or
charitable organizations. Although most wells were less than 50 meters deep just 30 years ago,
today's wells must be at least 800 meters deep. Several shootings have taken place in an attempt
at regulating water supplies.
Violence for control of water supplies has destabilized the nation. Water shortages will affect a
large portion of North Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Southwest of the United States as a result of
climate change. Future worldwide water shortages may trigger a massive conflict for resources,
if the carnage in Yemen is any indicator. Bangladesh is situated at the meeting point of three
main rivers and is incredibly flat. A quarter of the land there is less than 7 feet above sea level
since it lies at the foot of the Himalayas. Although the nation currently has a four-month rainy
season and is used to dealing with significant flooding, further flooding would be terrible.
During the past 20 years, there has been a 15% rise in the area affected by flooding in
Bangladesh's central plain. Cyclones are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity. 17
percent of the nation's land mass will be submerged by the sea if sea levels rise by one meter
over the course of the next century. By 2100, 20 million people in southern Bangladesh will be
compelled to abandon their homes. Bangladesh is experiencing the effects of climate change
earlier than the majority of the rest of the globe, and its responses will show how the rest of the
world should address these problems. Bangladesh will destabilize the region and the world if it is
unable to adjust to the effects of climate change. Million individuals who have been evicted from
their houses in Southern Bangladesh would attempt to cross into India, escalating tensions along
the closely guarded border.
