Report says global warming could spark conflict

[SLCPUNK]

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Rising world temperatures could cause a significant increase in disease across Asia and Pacific Island nations, leading to conflict and leaving hundreds of millions of people displaced, a new report said on Thursday.

Global warming by the year 2100 could also lead to more droughts, floods and typhoons, and increase the incidence of malaria, dengue fever and cholera, the report into the health impact of rising temperatures found.
Compiled by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Australian Conservation Foundation, the country's leading medical and environment groups, the study predicts average temperatures will rise by between 1 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) and 6 degrees by 2100.

"We're not just talking about a longer summer or a shorter ski season," AMA president Mukesh Haikerwal told reporters.
"Climate change will damage our health. People will get sick as a direct result. People will die in larger numbers as our earth, our world, our home, heats up."

In Australia, Haikerwal said up to 15,000 people could die each year due to heat stress by 2100, up from about 1,000 a year at present, while dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases could spread as far south as Sydney.

Dengue fever in Australia is currently confined to the country's tropical and sparsely populated far north. Internationally, higher world temperatures would increase the incidence of violent storms and droughts, and could lead to crop failures which could cause political and social upheaval."As stresses increase there is likely to be a shift toward authoritarian governments," the report said.

"At the worst case, large scale state failure and major conflict may generate hundreds of millions of displaced people in the Asia-Pacific region, a widespread collapse of law, and numerous abuses of human rights." The report said crop yields were likely to increase in parts of Northern Asia, but would decrease in countries in Southern Asia, where the incidence of floods, droughts, forest fires and tropical cyclones would all increase.

The report, titled Climate Change Health Impacts in Australia; Effects of Dramatic CO2 Emission Reductions, calls on governments to cut carbon dioxide emissions to limit the impact of global warming.

[gilld1]

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.....

[Dr. Blutarsky]

I`ll be dead in 2100.

And Axl's grandson will release Chinese Democracy in 2100.

[Kitano]

Whenever I hear scientists talking with such certainty about gloabal warming I tend to remember that many of these same scientists were predicting a second ice age in the 80's.  We're not even totally sure if the rise in temperature that we're seeing is being caused by humans or if it's the result of a natural change in the temperature of the planet that happens from time to time. 

Whatever the truth of this, you don't need to believe it to believe that action needs to be taken.  Kyoto was a failure because it only targetted the developed world when a large amount of the pollution that is said to cause climate change is coming from developing countries like india and china.  The developed countries need to work with the developing nations to mutually reduce this pollution in a way that gives no country an unfair advantage in the market and find ways to switch our energy needs away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy.

[gilld1]

I think the next big boom for the US is an alternative energy source.  It's our golden ticket.  Let all the others squabble over oil.

[SLCPUNK]

And Axl's grandson will release Chinese Democracy in 2100.

You are pretty optimistic. Personally I feel that is a little early.....

[SLCPUNK]

Whenever I hear scientists talking with such certainty about gloabal warming I tend to remember that many of these same scientists were predicting a second ice age in the 80's. 

Please show me a link when people predicted an ice age in the 80's? I have never heard that, ever.

I find it hard NOT to believe in global warming.

I think the next big boom for the US is an alternative energy source. It's our golden ticket. Let all the others squabble over oil.

Most of the oil companies already have their money put into alternative fuels. So when the swtich occurs it will be the same people bending us over the barrel (just not an oil barrel this time).

[jameslofton29]

SLC, he's right. There was alot of talk about an ice age back then. Magazine articles, tv specials,etc. I read a book about it years ago, I think it was called 'The Coming Ice Age' or 'The Next Ice Age'.

[SLCPUNK]

SLC, he's right. There was alot of talk about an ice age back then. Magazine articles, tv specials,etc. I read a book about it years ago, I think it was called 'The Coming Ice Age' or 'The Next Ice Age'.

I don't remember that at all. What time period were they predicting this would happen? I certainly don't see why another ice age won't happen again...thousands of years from now.

The difference now is that WE SEE the affects of global warming now.

[jarmo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age

I think that explains it quite nicely...




/jarmo

[Kitano]

SLC, he's right. There was alot of talk about an ice age back then. Magazine articles, tv specials,etc. I read a book about it years ago, I think it was called 'The Coming Ice Age' or 'The Next Ice Age'.

I don't remember that at all. What time period were they predicting this would happen? I certainly don't see why another ice age won't happen again...thousands of years from now.

The difference now is that WE SEE the affects of global warming now.

What we're seeing now is climate change.  Which may be totally the result of human activity or it may be a combination of human activity and the natural changes in the temperature of the planet.

[SLCPUNK]

I tend to lean towards hydro carbons myself.

[jameslofton29]

In the book, and in the various articles, scientists acted like it was already starting to happen. This was in the 1980's. Quick question: Has anyone here turned into an ice cube yet?

[0lorin]

I studied environmental awareness in uni one of the most scary things to come up I felt was "water wars". As we get more and more extreme weather and as populations continue to grow, countries will experience periods of drought of a scale that we have never seen before, with so many people using up the limited resource,  this will potentially lead to countries invading other countries for access to simple, plain old water - whilst other parts of the globe are neck deep in a flash flood.

Check out - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/454926.stm

[Walk]

Heh, they already have to expend precious oil to desalinate water in the Middle East.

[SLCPUNK]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age

I think that explains it quite nicely...




/jarmo

I didn't see anything about scientists predicting an ice age in the 80's...was that on that link? It is late and maybe I didn't see it.

[SLCPUNK]

In the book, and in the various articles, scientists acted like it was already starting to happen. This was in the 1980's. Quick question: Has anyone here turned into an ice cube yet?

Please show me links, I can't find any. I'd be interested to read them.

[0lorin]

I think it was the 70's that some radicals predicted a forthcoming ice age.
But if that is supposed to pour doubt on current global warming concerns, purr-lease!
Scientific and technological progress is advancing at a rate which is only increasing day by day.
Who would have thought in the 70's that we would all be sitting comfortably in our homes talking to strangers across the globe through our hugely powerful, easily affordable machines, machines that are more powerful than the most advanced from the 70's.
That would have been Buck Rogers stuff to them.

[jarmo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age

I think that explains it quite nicely...




/jarmo

I didn't see anything about scientists predicting an ice age in the 80's...was that on that link? It is late and maybe I didn't see it.

I didn't mean it like that.

But it desribes how ice ages come and go.

If somebody says one is coming, I think that person could be right.




/jarmo

[SLCPUNK]

You meant I did all that reading for nothing? 

Seriously..OK guys, show me a link were these scientists predicted the new ice age hit by the 80's....

Please.