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Published: July 2007
I came across an interesting article in Toronto Life magazine,
illustrating a view of the future and what life in the GTA will be
like with the effects of global warming. Just think about this point
of view from the following excerpts:
Climate change may cause a rapid swelling of the population. Vast
areas of the planet are experiencing drought, loss of forest cover and
increased flooding. There is evidence that the conflict in the Darfur
region for example, is partly the result of loss of grazing land due
to climate change. Under such conditions, areas like Toronto that are
politically stable, are not coastal, and are not turning into deserts
are going to receive huge influxes of “climate refugees”. Rising sea
levels, increased drought and monsoons are expected to displace 150
million people by 2050, creating more refugees than those fleeing
genocide war. Some will desperately want to live in Toronto and the
surrounding areas even with its oppressive temperatures.
The sudden warming of the planet that brought about the end of the
last ice age 11,000 years ago allowed humans to settle in permanent
cities, raise crops and domesticate animals. It made civilization
possible. But what the climate gives, the climate can take away. The
magnitude of the changes coming at us now is at least equal to that of
the warming that melted the glaciers at the end of the Pleistocene.
Just ask someone from the east coast of Florida what weather can do to
a city. Everything about our lives is going to determine and be
determined by the climate.
There will be a sharper division between people who can afford air
conditioning and quiet, shaded properties, those who can avoid the
extremes of heat and pollution, and those who will suffer from hotter
weather.
If I can be of any help to you, your friends, relatives
or associates, please do not hesitate to
contact me. Your referrals are greatly appreciated. |
