U.S. Intelligence Agencies Weigh Climate Change Impact on Global Political Stability

It seems to be a general rule that any government body will always get to an issue late in the game. For example, it seems that the U.S. intelligence community has just finished up an assessment of whether the changing weather patterns could affect political stability around the world.

This has been a concern that has been raised time and time again by environmental and humanitarian groups. We’ve already seen conflicts and wars arise over natural resources; it only makes sense that the diminishing of these resources – especially water – due to the supposed global warming would cause, and in some cases heighten, political strife.

Without putting a too finer point on things, this is especially a concern for African nations. Not for any increased intrinsic desire to fight, but because Africa is a continent that has been severely affected by climate changes.

But areas of Europe and Asia are also going to be suffering, from an increase in drought and floods respectively. Spain has suffered massively over the past few years, with a severe drought affecting the country. And one need only look at news reports from the first few months of this year pertaining to the Asian floods and monsoons to realize that problems exist.

Today, Wednesday the 25th, National Intelligence Council chairman Dr. Thomas Fingar and Energy Department intelligence chief Rolf Mowatt-Larsen will testify to Congress about the 58-page document, "The National Security Implications of Global Climate Change Through 2030," compiled by U.S. intelligence operatives.

"Climate change is a threat multiplier in the world's most unstable regions," a source familiar with the document told the Wired blogs. "It's like a match to the tinder."

"Generally, the Earth's climate is changing, it has always been changing, so that's not anything but a blinding flash of the obvious," said Richard Engel, deputy national intelligence officer for science and technology in a speech last month at the University of Delaware. "We really want to understand extreme weather events because they are very important as they potentially put at risk the infrastructure."

Posted by Josh Hill.

Source link:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/environmental-g.html

Comments

[jer35mx]

I believe the last statement was literal from the source, you should notice the word structure, instead of the social or resources, that talks about the kind of thinking of the intelligence of their country.

[claudio]

the problem of future instability worldwide relates more to :
1)Lack of energy (a very well known and unresoved issue)

2)Lack of food for an increasing word population

amd finally might relate fu weather changes.

There are however many other factors in addition to these above.

[Danny Bloom]

Good post. I am monitoring this stuff too. Have you heard of my
project about POLAR CITIES for survivors of global warming? I figure
we might need them around 2500 or so, and I have written to Fingar
about this. of course, no reply. But i am sure the USA govt and other
govts are already planning their own polar cities for their own VIPs
and powerful families, leaving the rest of us out in the cold, well,
it won't be cold, it will be HOT. 500 years.

Wonder if you can take a look at my images, created by Deng Cheng Hong
in Taiwan, and Lovelock has seen them and approves of them and told me
IT MAY VERY WELL HAPPEN AND SOON.

Maybe you can blog one day on polar cities? Please do. Pro or con. I
am curious to know your POV on all this.

As for Fingar's testimoney, he did not mention POLAR CITIES at all,
but you can bet the Homeland Sec dept already has plans in place for
polar cities in Alaska -- Juneau, Fairbanks, Anchroage, Nome....

Email me offline if want to chat: this is now my life's work. DANNY
BLOOM, Tufts 1971

http://pcillu101.blogspot.com
Danny Bloom | Homepage | 06.29.08 - 2:32 am | #

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POLAR CITIES BLUEPRINTS:
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com