Global Warming as Security Issue: US National Intelligence Council Report
July 3 2008 | 0 comment(s)
Climate change has become an important issue in recent years, but rarely has it received as much
attention as a security issue as it did last week. Dr. Thomas Fingar, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis, delivered
a briefing to the US Congress on the security issues associated with climate change.
As reported by CNN: "Global warming could destabilize "struggling and poor" countries around the world, prompting mass migrations and creating breeding grounds for terrorists, the chairman of the National Intelligence Council told Congress on Wednesday."
It is expected that with a rising average temperature, we may see more extremes in weather conditions: floods and droughts, stronger storm surges and longer hotter summers. The implications of more extreme weather conditions are dramatic: think of Burma or New Orleans. Events like these exacerbate the social, economic and governmental issues in the countries where they happen.
As per Dr. Fingar's report: climate change "will aggravate existing problems such as poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership and weak political institutions (...) People are likely to flee destabilized countries, and some may turn to terrorism"
The recognition of these potential changes
and the need to plan for them opens a host of new issues in homeland security. What role can emerging technologies play here?
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