Climate change and national security, it's a real issue

As a bitter election year comes to an end in the United States, an issue that saw little discussion or debate by any of the major political parties nonetheless remains - human caused climate change.

It's real and it's a fact. Those who deny it need to get over their "beliefs" and listen to people who know what they are talking about - climate scientists - and stop their nonsensical claims that it is a hoax.

You're wrong. It isn't. Get over it.

Photo: The Madhouse Effect, Amazon, Fair Use

One aspect of climate change that is often given short thrift is its effect on international conflicts. Although one could argue that there are no climate change "models" that accurately predict when or if people will start fighting each other because the world is getting warmer, there are some things to consider seriously.

Like:

What happens if the world's population continues to increase faster than the production of food to feed everyone?

What happens if increased droughts and storms lead to a decrease in agricultural yields?

What happens when temperature increases adversely impact major agricultural areas?

And most importantly, what happens when nation states and/or political factions within those nation states see their food and water supplies diminishing compared to their neighbors?

All of these areas are addressed in a new book, The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy, by Michael E. Mann and Tom Toles. Mann, one of the foremost scientific experts in the field, and Toles, a Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist, have put together a unique product that utilizes both written text and cartoons to address the problem of climate change.

If you are looking for some exceptional reading on the subject, you should check it out. An excellent summary of some of the issues discussed in the book can be found here:

Why Climate Change is the Biggest Threat to National Security