Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, but first I need more coffee.

Tag: egypt

2011 The Year of Destruction 2.0

"These goes to 11" — Nigel, Spinal Tap

2011 has been one heckuva year so far. From Tunisa to Egypt to Lybia to Wisconsin to Japan. From protests to topping governments, to violence, to stripping unions of their power and now a big honking earthquake in Japan. The video the tsunami rolling up in Sendai will stay with me. I’ve never seen anything like it. I saw snippets of stuff like that with the Boxing Day Earthquake Tsunami, but this was from the air. Watching hundreds of acres of water roiling and filled with debris wiping out anything in its path.

I think I want to call 2011 The Year The Shit Hits the Fan. It didn’t take long for Republican victories in the House and state governments to see the destruction they are causing. Arizona has gone insane, allowing guns in schools (after Rep Giffords was shot in the head at point blank range in the head and a 6 others gunned down), and more anti-immigrant legislation being passed. Wisconsin just illegally stripped public unions of their rights and several other states are working feverishly at it. Why? It’s not to fix their budget gaps. It’s the last defense against privatizing the government. That was an avoidable disaster. Alas, those people who voted against their own interest will blame the resulting mess on the Democrats. I hope the protests in Wisconsin has finally woken the public and turn things around.

With so much turmoil in the world it won’t be long before the fundies to go crazy. Nobody send an unblemished red heifer to Israel or you won’t be able to turn the crazy off. 

Changes

Although humans are changing the climate, they are also having other impacts upon the global ecosystems. The point of these stories is not climate change. At least not the point I’m trying to make. My focus is on the human tragedy that is happening now in both Egypt and Sudan and the immediate causes of each. We can draw a straight line from the drought in Russia to the soaring prices of wheat  in Egypt. We can draw a straight line from the drought in Sudan and the conflict between the farmers and the nomads. I believe there is a connection between what anthropogenic climate change and what is happening there. I don’t have the time, space, or expertise to debate that here. I do know that humans are stressing the world’s water cycle greatly. We are pushing the planetary boundaries. Climate change is only one of them.

PRI The World: High food prices in Egypt and climate change
http://www.theworld.org/2011/02/03/food-prices-egypt-climate-change/ 

Christian Science Monitor: Climate change escalates Darfur crisis
Less rainfall on the fringes of the Sahara Desert is putting more of a strain on resources than ever before. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0727/p01s04-woaf.html?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4d52e4cd19458486,0

PS – I’d composed this before Mubarak stepped down. I hope that the people of Egypt will finally be able to elect a Democratic and free government. 

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