Climate Change and Coastal Destruction
Why is it that other nations see the link between climate change being a cause of coastal destruction of the type which devastated New Orleans and not the United States? In the most recent case, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has criticised the United States' record on combating global warming in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Warming oceans, rising sea level and sinking coastlines from the pumping of petroleum are all indicative of fossil fuels intensifying hurricanes.
The best explanation of the science behind the conclusion that global warming may have increased the intensity of Hurricane Katrina, and certainly will in the future, can be found on Real Climate – a blog by leading climate researchers. More fundamentally, the scale of the human endeavour is simply overwhelming the ability of natural ecosystems to continue functioning and providing our every need.
Indeed, the New York Times asks what about the next storm – echoing many observations made recently here. One would wonder how many ecologically augmented natural disasters it will take for the United States to realize their way of living is deadly, and by that time it may well be too late. Americans have proven themselves unwilling to think critically of their lifestyles if it means even minimal reductions in their material consumption. By and large Americans are a greedy, selfish bunch – so far detached from nature that they do not recognize it when it bites them on their ample butts.