Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Why Republicans should take climate change seriously

One of the effects of climate change appears to be the reduction in predictable precipitation in areas nearer the equator; in the Americas this means Central America. Since many Central American countries have economies that are significantly agricultural, increasingly frequent droughts will create an economic incentive to move north to places not as acutely affected by climate change.  At the same time economic hardship will lead to unrest and repression resulting in civil rights abuses, creating additional pressure to flee to less repressive countries. The result will be an increase in the number of people trying to enter the USA and the blurring of any distinction between economic migrants and political refugees. That makes climate change as much a priority for Republicans as for Democrats. 

Border walls and ramping up enforcement will only lead to greater a humanitarian disaster; the problem needs fixing at its source. Historically the emphasis has been on political intervention to support friendly (and sometimes) democratic governments south of the border but that is no longer enough. The US will need to address climate change both at its root, for the longer term through curbing of carbon and methane emissions, and through mitigation in the shorter term with initiatives to help countries whose economies are being adversely impacted by climate change.     

Republican climate deniers may have no compunction about going down in history as the cult that destroyed life on earth as we know it, but perhaps they may take notice when they realize that failing to fix the climate problem might increase the "browning of America" of which they seem mortally afraid. 

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