Global warming was a bogeyman story in the first part of the twentieth century but it has become a reality for people of the twenty-first century. People have acknowledged changes which have been taking place and are trying to react accordingly. Thus, it has become estimated that 150-200 million people will become refugees due to climate warming (Afifi and Jäger 101).
It is noteworthy that researchers stress that the number of forced migrants is quite rough as further research is required. Nonetheless, it is clear that a lot of people will have to leave their homelands trying to escape from unfavorable climate conditions. It is necessary to understand particular causes of migration to be able to develop efficient measures to help people.
In the first place it is necessary to note that climate change is associated with extreme weathers. Numerous tornadoes, storms, floods, droughts and so on damage vast areas and make them uninhabitable: people’s dwellings are destroyed, ecosystems are damaged, lands turn into marshes, cultivated land deteriorates and so on (Miller and Spoolman 513).
It is especially true for coastal areas which are affected by these natural disasters as well as ocean rise. Global warming often damages farming and vast areas become unsuitable for cultivation. This leads to famine. Clearly, urban areas are also becoming less comfortable. Global warming leads to spread of numerous diseases which were not common or were typical of African or Asian areas.
Higher temperatures also speed up a variety of chemical reactions producing dangerous chemicals “in photochemical smog in urban areas” (Miller and Spoolman 513). Finally, people also predict numerous wars for resources such as water, food, oil, wood, and so on.
Obviously, all these events will force millions of people leave their homelands as this is already happening since refugees from African countries are trying to escape to European or other developed countries.
Admittedly, the most effective way to diminish the effect of global warming is to reduce climate change or, at least, slow it down. However, people are yet to find the solution to this problem. Meanwhile, they have to start developing strategies to avoid events mentioned above. Of course, the most effective way to solve this problem would be creation of a global government which would distribute natural resources among people of the world.
This will require construction of systems which could transport resources across countries. It may seem a costly project but it will be cost-effective compared to numerous programs to tackle issues concerning refugees.
However, the global government is unlikely to exist as national interests often (or rather always) overweigh. Though, it is clear that governments of developing countries will not try to solve such issues as famine due to lack of funds and monetary assistance from other countries is not enough.
Therefore, it is clear that people are unlikely to come up with an efficient solution and lots of people will become forced migrants. Of course, it is hard to predict the number of people who will leave their homelands but it is apparent that the number will be large.
Scientists as well as all stakeholders seem unable to forget about personal/national interests and really focus on issues concerning global warming. However, it is still necessary to discuss the issue and raise awareness among people. This will draw more attention to the problem and may contribute to development of the effective solution.
Works Cited
Afifi, Tamer, and Jill Jäger. Environment, Forced Migration and Social Vulnerability. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media, 2010. Print.
Miller, G., and Scott Spoolman. Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.