By Staci-lee Sherwood
In 2008 the US House of Representatives held a joint hearing for the SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING and the SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT, PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE on the national security implications of climate change. Despite statements about how burning fossil fuels were a driving force of many environmental problems we are now in 2022 and as addicted to oil as ever.
Here is a telling statement from 14 years ago from that hearing. California Congresswoman Anna Eshoo stated “I would note that in a speech last month the NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer described the greatest security challenges facing the alliance. Note that the very first threat he mentioned are the effects of global climate change. There is no question in his mind that the climate change poses a national security challenge.”
NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said ``In tomorrow's uncertain world we cannot wait for threats to mature before deciding how we counter them. The nature of this new environment is already taking shape. It will be an environment that will be marked by the effects of climate change; such as territorial conflicts, rising food prices and migration. It will be characterized by the scramble for energy resources, by the emergence of new powers, and by nonstate actors trying to gain access to deadly technologies."
In 2009 the CIA opened The Center on Climate Change and National Security to assess how environmental factors will potentially affect political, economic and social stability overseas. The US was not alone, the United Kingdom was putting together their own intelligence task force preparing to address the same impending security issues. Larger counties have only just begun to see the impending migration of those who can no longer live on the frontlines of rising tides. What the World Bank has to say click here https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange/publication/turn-down-the-heat-climate-extremes-regional-impacts-resilience
There have been many studies and many task forces but little real action. “Climate Change and International Responses Increasing Challenges to US National Security Through 2040” published in 2022. “Climate change is an important factor in the current and future operating environment for the Joint Force, affecting foreign nations’ internal stability and military capabilities. We assess that climate change will increasingly exacerbate risks to U.S. national security interests as physical impacts increase and geopolitical tensions mount about how to respond. The physical effects of climate change are likely to intensify cross migraborder geopolitical flashpoints, including a growing risk of conflict over crosstion and water, food, and mineral resources.”
Many people think the sudden heat wave, monster hurricanes and droughts are a new thing. Truth is they have been getting more prevalent the past few years. Nature was warning us we refused to listen. It would behoove our own species to look for a serious way to mitigate what is already happening because what is coming down the road will be much worse.
We can no longer deny or stop what is already in the pipeline. Will political agenda still hold the world captive or will acceptance of reality finally set it? Only time will tell and it’s not on our side. In a blink of an eye we could all be climate refugees. Look at the 2022 heat wave, drought and wildfire crisis in the US and Europe. The UK has infrastructure that is literally melting. What more proof do you need?
Full article here
-This was sent as an Opinion to The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times, Huff Post, Forbes, The Guardian US and The Washington Post but none wanted to publish something that showed the government to be hypocritical and in the pocket of oil companies by pushing fossil fuels when they have known for decades the damage it does -