Sunday, May 24, 2015

Climate Change is affecting our National Security - 4 examples.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/4-main-arguments-president-obama-tying-climate-change-national-security?akid=13133.294211.9uG9hD&rd=1&src=newsletter1036788&t=15

1. Climate change puts coastal areas at risk
Citing the lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy, the effects of which were worsened by the fact that the sea level at New York Harbor had risen by a foot since 1900, the report called the nation's coastal areas "the frontlines of the threat posed by climate change."
"Critical infrastructure, major military installations, and hurricane evacuation routes are increasingly vulnerable to impacts, such as higher sea levels, storm surges, and flooding exacerbated by climate change.
2. The changing Arctic poses risks to other parts of the country
Expanding on the president's National Strategy for the Arctic Region document from May 2013, the report says the Arctic region offers a "vivid case study" that reveals how climate change and national security are intertwined.
"Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at twice the rate of the rest of the world on average, and melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets are contributing to rising sea levels," the report states. "Rising ocean temperatures are causing northward range shifts of certain fish species, affecting ocean ecosystems and the communities and economies that depend on them.

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