Climate Wars

Climate Wars by Gwynne Dyer
2008 Random House Canada

Gwynne Dyer explores the connections between global warming and war in his latest book, Climate Wars. He asserts that, while writing his book, he discovered that global warming is happening faster than climate models predicted; we will be required to use geo-engineering on a temporary basis to halt climate change while we get our carbon emissions under control; and that, as the global temperature rises, the world will see more human catastrophes including wars – possibly even nuclear wars. Mr. Dyer also suggests that switching to fluorescent light bulbs to slow climate change has a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding. His book is depressing reading – but it is necessary reading.

Not convinced by the fact that Mr. Dyer has a PhD in War Studies from the University of London and therefore is eminently qualified to extrapolate future threats from current data? You are probably alone in your doubt: more and varied institutions and organizations are taking climate change seriously. For example, The Lancet recently published an article describing the “warming of Planet Earth” as “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.”
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_84227.html
In a report called The Right to Survive, Oxfam warns that climate change could “completely overwhelm current capacity to respond to emergencies” by 2015 if the threat of climate change is ignored.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/papers/right-to-survive.html
No less august an organization than the World Bank mentions drought (caused and deepened by climate change) in the Middle East as intensifying water disputes between the Palestinians and Israel. “Water disputes” can easily lead to war as Gwynne Dyer describes on page 20 of his book.
Tempted to put your faith in climate change deniers funded by oil companies? View the following video on You Tube for a concise refutation of Canada’s premiere climate change denier, Dr. Ball.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQAHVQ1Psc&feature=related This site also has a related video on Arctic ice melt …..

Climate change is happening and happening faster than predicted. Read this book and educate yourself on climate change. And then write your MP and lobby for legislation with teeth restricting carbon emissions. Do it soon!