"no more blood for oil"

This article from today's New York Times got me thinking. It reported that the world's poorest nations-- closest to the equator-- would bear the brunt of climate change, even though the world's richest nations have caused it.

Before I go into more depth, here's Gore's cutesy primer on global warming, in case you're still a bit lost on the basics of climate change, (as I think many of us are).



The NYT went into a bit more depth than Suzy. But although it discussed the inevitability of starvation and drought in the developing world, the article did not mention that in the driest regions of Africa, climate change would also cause brutal wars over dwindling water-- one of which is already taking place in Darfur. The genocide is partly a conflict over water, one that heated up as the Sahara moved farther south. The truth is that the Darfur genocide might not be taking place if not for global warming. About two weeks ago, my fellow blogger, Hannah Baldwin provided a concise and moving overview of this issue.


This connection is crucial. Yet both Africa activists and environmentalists overlook it. In reality, the immediate effects of global warming are less like the doomsday scenarios in The Day After Tomorrow, and more like the crises already taking place across the continent of Africa. Yet even those chanting "no more blood for oil" don't always know about the blood being spilled in Darfur.

But in today's political climate, that could easily change. In the minds of voters, Al Gore and Democratic victory in the Mid-terms have already turned global warming into the non-partisan, non-controversial reality it's always been. Although the NYT is famously liberal, it's noteworthy that today's article included no "fair and balanced" quotes from oil company "scientists", and no rhetoric from the Bush administration-- perhaps because even Bush is starting to believe.

As a nation, we have begun to move forward from accepting global warming as truth, to coping with its consequences. As we work to smooth our own transition into a warmer world, we must not do what we usually do about genocide: cope instead of prevent, as we forgot about Africa.

Since Dave Gethings interns with the UN, and is planning their conference on Global Warming, I'm very interested in what he knows and feels about this issue. Maybe if we're lucky, he'll make a post in response. :)