Tuesday, August 07, 2007

From "Cold War" to "Warming War"

This post is derived purely from my discovery of the term "Warming War".

After decades of the "cold war" with its childhood drills that required us to do something (I forget what) while the nuclear siren on top of our school roof was tested (and to discuss in detail what we would do if we had 3 minutes to live), it is interesting to see how we have progressed neatly to what has been called the "Warming War".

It is true that it is now chimneys, SUVs and petrol prices where the new war is being waged. I suspect it will not be long before the "Warming War" hots up.

- Climate change induced migration and the pressures on populations and governments (both sending and receiving countries)

- The scarcity of water resources

are just two possible triggers.

The battle will be between:

(1) Developed and "dirty" countries e.g. US/Australia

(2) Developing and "dirty" countries e.g. India and China

(3) Developed and "Clean" countries e.g. some EU countries

(4) Developing and "Clean" countries e.g. most of Africa

There are going to be some winners and some very large losers in the up and coming "warming war". I suspect the losers will be those with the smallest voices.

From Cold War to the Warming War [The Globalist]

Moving towards the "Warming War"

The world has moved from a global threat once called the Cold War, to what now should be considered the “Warming War.” Our conflict is not with guns and missiles but with weapons from everyday lives — chimney stacks and exhaust pipes. We are confronted with a chemical war of immense proportions.

With regard to energy, it is clear from the ongoing world crisis that the security dimensions of prohibitive access to — and use of — sources of energy must be addressed. The world needs a mix of energy sources that is easily accessible to all countries and communities.


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1 comment:

Emmanuel said...

"The battle will be between..." part sounds like it's going to occur among countries at different points on the environmental Kuznets curve. As such, I'd bet that the "warming war" is sensitive to participant positional shifts over time.