The Real Culprit Behind Trump's Border Emergency? Climate Change22-02-2019 22:09 |
Tai Hai Chen★★★★☆ (1085) |
http://time.com/5535086/trump-climate-change-national-emergency/
President Donald Trump is expected to convene a new panel that will likely undermine the expert consensus that climate change threatens national security.
But experts say that move is at odds with his recent declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border, where thousands of the Central American migrants have arrived after fleeing the effects of climate change.
"Yeah, they're economic migrants, but they're really climate refugees," says Robert Albro, a researcher American University who has studied the effects of climate change in Latin America. But "the politics around this is so toxic that it's unlikely to have any kind of productive forward motion in the foreseeable future."
Trump's new panel underscores a fundamental irony at the center of the Administration's treatment of two complex challenges facing the U.S. today: neither new migrant caravans nor climate change can be prevented with a stalwart commitment to an "America First" agenda. Instead, both issues require precisely the kind of international cooperation and global interdependency that Trump routinely decries.
The fact that climate change is one of several primary drivers behind global migration is not controversial among experts.
Researchers and development officials have documented in recent years a slew of climate risks facing Central America, particularly Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. A 2016 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization showed 1.6 million people suffering from food insecurity in the region as a result of climate-change related drought, which has left rural and impoverished communities the most vulnerable. Throughout the region, the effects of climate change have made crops unprofitable, driving farmers into cities, and eventually toward the U.S. Thousands more Central Americans have suffered from malnutrition and an inability to feed their children.
"They usually don't go after the first drought," says Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. "But when the drought comes back and they don't have many any more savings, they have do something."
Government scientists, even those working for the Trump administration, have acknowledged the link between climate change and increased migration. The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA) — a Congressionally mandated report released last year by more than a dozen federal agencies — noted that climate change would drive future migration in the U.S. and included a section highlighting how extreme weather has contributed to past migrant crises.
The link between climate change and migration extends to other parts of the globe as well, including the Middle East. A 2017 study published in the journal Science showed that by the end of the century climate change could double the number of refugees seeking asylum in Europe. And other research has shown that climate change-related drought has worsened the conflict in Syria. While environmental devastation is not the only factor contributing to unprecedented trends in global migration, it's clear it's contributing to the global movement of people.
The irony undergirding Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border will likely have no effect on his national security panel on climate change. The 12-member committee, which was first reported by the Washington Post, will be led by William Happer, a retired Princeton University professor who has vocally denied the science of climate change and memorably compared environmentalists' criticism of carbon dioxide to the persecution of the Jewish people during World War II. Its convocation follows a barrage of comments from Trump that have sought to undermine climate science. He has repeatedly trolled the internet with tweets about cold weather and the Administration has engaged in a concerted effort to undo the country's environmental regulations. "I don't believe it," Trump said in November of the NCA and, by extension, climate change more broadly.
Still, it remains unclear what tangible effects the panel's conclusions might have. Experts at federal agencies continue to acknowledge and prepare for the threat of climate change, including the Department of Defense which last month highlighted the threat a warmer world plays to national security in a congressionally mandated report. And in many cases agencies are compelled to act on climate change by a complex set of federal law and Supreme Court rulings.
The notion that climate change could constitute a national emergency has won over many Democrats eager for ways to implement climate policy come 2020. For that reason, many Republicans have remained skeptical of Trump's emergency declaration. "Today's national emergency is border security," said Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican. "But a future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal."
Indeed, future Democrats may point to the migrant crisis to justify it.
Edited on 22-02-2019 22:15 |
23-02-2019 00:44 |
Into the Night★★★★★ (22614) |
Tai Hai Chen wrote: http://time.com/5535086/trump-climate-change-national-emergency/
President Donald Trump is expected to convene a new panel that will likely undermine the expert consensus that climate change threatens national security.
But experts say that move is at odds with his recent declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border, where thousands of the Central American migrants have arrived after fleeing the effects of climate change.
"Yeah, they're economic migrants, but they're really climate refugees," says Robert Albro, a researcher American University who has studied the effects of climate change in Latin America. But "the politics around this is so toxic that it's unlikely to have any kind of productive forward motion in the foreseeable future."
Trump's new panel underscores a fundamental irony at the center of the Administration's treatment of two complex challenges facing the U.S. today: neither new migrant caravans nor climate change can be prevented with a stalwart commitment to an "America First" agenda. Instead, both issues require precisely the kind of international cooperation and global interdependency that Trump routinely decries.
The fact that climate change is one of several primary drivers behind global migration is not controversial among experts.
Researchers and development officials have documented in recent years a slew of climate risks facing Central America, particularly Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. A 2016 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization showed 1.6 million people suffering from food insecurity in the region as a result of climate-change related drought, which has left rural and impoverished communities the most vulnerable. Throughout the region, the effects of climate change have made crops unprofitable, driving farmers into cities, and eventually toward the U.S. Thousands more Central Americans have suffered from malnutrition and an inability to feed their children.
"They usually don't go after the first drought," says Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. "But when the drought comes back and they don't have many any more savings, they have do something."
Government scientists, even those working for the Trump administration, have acknowledged the link between climate change and increased migration. The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA) — a Congressionally mandated report released last year by more than a dozen federal agencies — noted that climate change would drive future migration in the U.S. and included a section highlighting how extreme weather has contributed to past migrant crises.
The link between climate change and migration extends to other parts of the globe as well, including the Middle East. A 2017 study published in the journal Science showed that by the end of the century climate change could double the number of refugees seeking asylum in Europe. And other research has shown that climate change-related drought has worsened the conflict in Syria. While environmental devastation is not the only factor contributing to unprecedented trends in global migration, it's clear it's contributing to the global movement of people.
The irony undergirding Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border will likely have no effect on his national security panel on climate change. The 12-member committee, which was first reported by the Washington Post, will be led by William Happer, a retired Princeton University professor who has vocally denied the science of climate change and memorably compared environmentalists' criticism of carbon dioxide to the persecution of the Jewish people during World War II. Its convocation follows a barrage of comments from Trump that have sought to undermine climate science. He has repeatedly trolled the internet with tweets about cold weather and the Administration has engaged in a concerted effort to undo the country's environmental regulations. "I don't believe it," Trump said in November of the NCA and, by extension, climate change more broadly.
Still, it remains unclear what tangible effects the panel's conclusions might have. Experts at federal agencies continue to acknowledge and prepare for the threat of climate change, including the Department of Defense which last month highlighted the threat a warmer world plays to national security in a congressionally mandated report. And in many cases agencies are compelled to act on climate change by a complex set of federal law and Supreme Court rulings.
The notion that climate change could constitute a national emergency has won over many Democrats eager for ways to implement climate policy come 2020. For that reason, many Republicans have remained skeptical of Trump's emergency declaration. "Today's national emergency is border security," said Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican. "But a future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal."
Indeed, future Democrats may point to the migrant crisis to justify it.
Define 'climate change'. Science has no theories about meaningless buzzwords.
The Parrot Killer
Debunked in my sig. - tmiddles
Google keeps track of paranoid talk and i'm not on their list. I've been evaluated and certified. - keepit
nuclear powered ships do not require nuclear fuel. - Swan
While it is true that fossils do not burn it is also true that fossil fuels burn very well - Swan |
23-02-2019 01:23 |
Tai Hai Chen★★★★☆ (1085) |
Into the Night wrote:
Tai Hai Chen wrote: http://time.com/5535086/trump-climate-change-national-emergency/
President Donald Trump is expected to convene a new panel that will likely undermine the expert consensus that climate change threatens national security.
But experts say that move is at odds with his recent declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border, where thousands of the Central American migrants have arrived after fleeing the effects of climate change.
"Yeah, they're economic migrants, but they're really climate refugees," says Robert Albro, a researcher American University who has studied the effects of climate change in Latin America. But "the politics around this is so toxic that it's unlikely to have any kind of productive forward motion in the foreseeable future."
Trump's new panel underscores a fundamental irony at the center of the Administration's treatment of two complex challenges facing the U.S. today: neither new migrant caravans nor climate change can be prevented with a stalwart commitment to an "America First" agenda. Instead, both issues require precisely the kind of international cooperation and global interdependency that Trump routinely decries.
The fact that climate change is one of several primary drivers behind global migration is not controversial among experts.
Researchers and development officials have documented in recent years a slew of climate risks facing Central America, particularly Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. A 2016 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization showed 1.6 million people suffering from food insecurity in the region as a result of climate-change related drought, which has left rural and impoverished communities the most vulnerable. Throughout the region, the effects of climate change have made crops unprofitable, driving farmers into cities, and eventually toward the U.S. Thousands more Central Americans have suffered from malnutrition and an inability to feed their children.
"They usually don't go after the first drought," says Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. "But when the drought comes back and they don't have many any more savings, they have do something."
Government scientists, even those working for the Trump administration, have acknowledged the link between climate change and increased migration. The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA) — a Congressionally mandated report released last year by more than a dozen federal agencies — noted that climate change would drive future migration in the U.S. and included a section highlighting how extreme weather has contributed to past migrant crises.
The link between climate change and migration extends to other parts of the globe as well, including the Middle East. A 2017 study published in the journal Science showed that by the end of the century climate change could double the number of refugees seeking asylum in Europe. And other research has shown that climate change-related drought has worsened the conflict in Syria. While environmental devastation is not the only factor contributing to unprecedented trends in global migration, it's clear it's contributing to the global movement of people.
The irony undergirding Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border will likely have no effect on his national security panel on climate change. The 12-member committee, which was first reported by the Washington Post, will be led by William Happer, a retired Princeton University professor who has vocally denied the science of climate change and memorably compared environmentalists' criticism of carbon dioxide to the persecution of the Jewish people during World War II. Its convocation follows a barrage of comments from Trump that have sought to undermine climate science. He has repeatedly trolled the internet with tweets about cold weather and the Administration has engaged in a concerted effort to undo the country's environmental regulations. "I don't believe it," Trump said in November of the NCA and, by extension, climate change more broadly.
Still, it remains unclear what tangible effects the panel's conclusions might have. Experts at federal agencies continue to acknowledge and prepare for the threat of climate change, including the Department of Defense which last month highlighted the threat a warmer world plays to national security in a congressionally mandated report. And in many cases agencies are compelled to act on climate change by a complex set of federal law and Supreme Court rulings.
The notion that climate change could constitute a national emergency has won over many Democrats eager for ways to implement climate policy come 2020. For that reason, many Republicans have remained skeptical of Trump's emergency declaration. "Today's national emergency is border security," said Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican. "But a future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal."
Indeed, future Democrats may point to the migrant crisis to justify it.
Define 'climate change'. Science has no theories about meaningless buzzwords.
Sunny. Not sunny. Rainy. Not rainy. Windy. Not windy. Cloudy. Not cloudy. Hot. Warm. Cool. Cold. Dry. Humid. These are all climate change these days. |
23-02-2019 03:09 |
Into the Night★★★★★ (22614) |
Tai Hai Chen wrote:
Into the Night wrote:
Define 'climate change'. Science has no theories about meaningless buzzwords.
Sunny. Not sunny. Rainy. Not rainy. Windy. Not windy. Cloudy. Not cloudy. Hot. Warm. Cool. Cold. Dry. Humid. These are all climate change these days. You are describing aspects of weather, not climate. That is not climate or 'climate change'. Climate is usually defined something similar to 'weather over a long time'. A 'long time' is not specified.
'Climate change' is still undefined.
The Parrot Killer
Debunked in my sig. - tmiddles
Google keeps track of paranoid talk and i'm not on their list. I've been evaluated and certified. - keepit
nuclear powered ships do not require nuclear fuel. - Swan
While it is true that fossils do not burn it is also true that fossil fuels burn very well - Swan
Edited on 23-02-2019 03:09 |
23-02-2019 04:14 |
Tai Hai Chen★★★★☆ (1085) |
Into the Night wrote:
Tai Hai Chen wrote:
Into the Night wrote:
Define 'climate change'. Science has no theories about meaningless buzzwords.
Sunny. Not sunny. Rainy. Not rainy. Windy. Not windy. Cloudy. Not cloudy. Hot. Warm. Cool. Cold. Dry. Humid. These are all climate change these days. You are describing aspects of weather, not climate. That is not climate or 'climate change'. Climate is usually defined something similar to 'weather over a long time'. A 'long time' is not specified.
'Climate change' is still undefined.
There is no climate without weather. Besides, climate change is a buzzword to blame anything on these days. If a murderer murders someone, he can say it was climate change that made him do it. |
23-02-2019 04:54 |
HarveyH55★★★★★ (5197) |
What a load of BS! Most of the migrants claim gang violence and corrupt government. Drought? Find that hard to believe, since they can grow crops pretty much all year (tropics). It's more in their choice of crops, and greed. They grow to export, and too little to feed themselves. Pretty sure most want to come to the USA for all the free stuff our government likes to give away, for those who don't feel like working for it.
The emergency, is that we want to know who is coming into the country, and have some control over how many. We have immigrants from all over the word, not just coming from the southern border. We can only accommodate a certain number of people who don't have money, housing, job prospects, or any means to provide for themselves. Those crossing the southern border, illegally, have just what they are carrying, no documentation, limited employment opportunities, and will commit other crimes, beyond crossing our border, just to survive, initially. Many eventually settle down though, and are usually pretty good neighbors, since they don't want to draw attention, and get deported. The emergency, is that they are getting organized, and rushing the border in groups numbering in the thousands. While our resources are focused the large groups, the rest of the border is left open for the smaller operators. A physical barrier won't stop it, but do a good job slowing them down, and make it more obvious, easier to catch. We'll be able to better identify the weaker areas, and add the needed technology, manpower, to improve security.
There is no more 'free', open land in America, it's owned by someone. Nobody can just come to America, declare themselves a citizen, find an open section of land, claim it, and build a home for themselves. Immigrants these days, need a place to stay, before they arrive, and the means to provide for themselves (job, money they saved, a sponsor). It's likely that most who come here illegally, will also have to commit other crimes, just to survive, until they can establish a home, a job, and the means to provide. Those crimes, small or big, cost us all. If they are fleeing from crime, gangs, and corruption, it seems to reason, those problems would follow them as well, since they follow the money. Illegal immigrants are easy victims, can't report anything, without risk of being deported. |