Map of life expectancy at birth from Global Education Project.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Obviously only one blog post worth making today . . .

That's of course the new release from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. All the available material is at the link but you might want to start with the Summary for Policymakers, which is only 44 pages long.

The report made the upper right hand corner place of honor in the NYT, but in the smallest possible guise, one column wide. The TV news web sites are still leading with the missing airplane and the mudslide. These are obviously more important than:

i. Risk of death, injury, ill-health, or disrupted livelihoods in low-lying coastal zones and small island developing states and other small islands, due to storm surges, coastal flooding, and sea-level rise.34 [RFC 1-5]
ii. Risk of severe ill-health and disrupted livelihoods for large urban populations due to inland flooding in some regions.35 [RFC 2 and 3]
iii. Systemic risks due to extreme weather events leading to breakdown of infrastructure networks and critical services such as electricity, water supply, and health and emergency
services.36 [RFC 2-4]
iv. Risk of mortality and morbidity during periods of extreme heat, particularly for vulnerable urban populations and those working outdoors in urban or rural areas.37 [RFC 2 and 3]
v. Risk of food insecurity and the breakdown of food systems linked to warming, drought, flooding, and precipitation variability and extremes, particularly for poorer populations in urban and rural settings.38 [RFC 2-4]
vi. Risk of loss of rural livelihoods and income due to insufficient access to drinking and
irrigation water and reduced agricultural productivity, particularly for farmers and pastoralists with minimal capital in semi-arid regions.39 [RFC 2 and 3]
vii. Risk of loss of marine and coastal ecosystems, biodiversity, and the ecosystem goods, functions, and services they provide for coastal livelihoods, especially for fishing
communities in the tropics and the Arctic.40 [RFC 1, 2, and 4]
viii. Risk of loss of terrestrial and inland water ecosystems, biodiversity, and the ecosystem goods, functions, and services they provide for livelihoods.41 [RFC 1, 3, and 4]

Followed, of course, by resource wars, massive refugee crises, and global famine. Ah, no biggie, there's a giant sinkhole in Detroit!

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