Is global warming to blame for the Syrian war? Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke and Bernie Sanders seem to think so. At the CNN climate town hall this month, Buttigieg and O’Rourke referred to climate change as a national security threat that contributed to causing the Syrian civil war. “Wars that were precipitated by climate change, like Syria, will pale in comparison to the wars that we see in the future,” O’Rourke warned. Both candidates follow the lead of Sanders, who has long claimed that “climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism”. Recently, he told his followers, “Climate change is one of the greatest threats to global security. As we see more drought, as poor people are not able to grow the food they need, there will be migrations of millions of people all over the world.”
This isn’t policy discussion but deflection
This is an example of the messy game of “Telephone” that passes for climate policy discussion today. Scientists write a nuanced research paper. These findings become distorted in the interests of sharing a clear narrative with the public. Then a politician seizes on the news and twists the story even further.
To make the case for the link between terrorism and global warming, Sanders linked to a news story with a provocative headline: “Climate change will increase risk of violent conflict, researchers warn”.
But that paper hardly offers compelling evidence that terrorism is bigger today thanks to global warming. The authors actually looked at 16 factors that drive conflict risk. When they ranked that list in terms of influence, climate came in 14th, behind more important factors like poor development, population pressure and corruption. As the researchers write, “Other drivers, such as low socioeconomic development and low capabilities of the state, are judged to be substantially more influential, and the mechanisms of climate–conflict linkages remain a key uncertainty.”
In the case of Syria, the idea that we would blame the small and uncertain role that global warming has played in desertification to date is, frankly, bizarre, compared with Syria’s history of bad water management, a population that tripled in 35 years and added pressure on resources, and the effects of decades of American and British foreign policy, the Arab Spring uprisings, religious and ethnic tensions, and political repression.
Read more from Bjorn Lomborg at USA Today
The Eco-Wackos and Liberals blame Global Warming/Climate Change on any thing from ISIS to Burnt Toast these people are beyond stupid their just out of their minds
Remind us again why the sky-is-falling hyperbolic global warming predictions are not taken seriously?
It may be climate change but what caused the climate to change as the north African and middle eastern deserts were there long before there was a country called Syria. Long before there was a Muslim death cult. Humans and animals adapted.
Civil wars come from not accepting the government the total lack of logic and understanding is astounding. The cant stop continental drift, they can and are altering the weather.
The biggest cause of the Syrian conflict is the denying of citizenship EVER to Muslims who move from one Islamic country to another!
That policy has led to over 10 MILLION stateless males of fighting age, not counting the older, the younger and the women!
Denied citizenship means denied entry to good jobs, education, health care and representation in government.
No wonder these men are pent up with anger.
From Time, August 20, 2019 – Record-Breaking Temperatures Around the World Are ‘Almost Entirely’ Due to Climate Change
Isn’t it important to know what the average temperature of the World has been over the years? I didn’t see any real statistics on averaging World temperatures. It does make a difference when temperatures are taking in heat islands, yet CO2 is blamed. Then the faulty data is quoted by Greg and others with no scientific knowledge.
@Greg: Climate cooling trend occurring in Scandinavia
Maybe Greta would be able to calm down a little if she went back home and witnessed some REALITY?
Early snow storms hit Rockies, Tetons
https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/2019-09-10-first-snow-utah-wyoming-yellowstone-grand-teton
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/25/historic-september-blizzard-wallop-northern-rockies-weekend/2440601001/
Probably going to need to shift back to global cooling.
@Randy:Well, that’s one of the things the climate nazis routinely do; they take the warmer historic temperatures and delete or cool them down. Then, they jack up the temperatures they collect currently. POOF! Instant climate emergency!
Climate Change and Syria’s Civil War
There is no single cause, but “the longest and most severe drought ever recorded” was certainly part of the picture. As global warming progresses, the part it plays in geopolitical instability will increase. If people will go to war over oil, do you think they won’t over water and food?
@Greg: The US should NEVER have been in Syria. Let the Syrians and Russians take care of their civil war.
@Greg: Your ignorance continues to amaze me. It snowed in MT a few days ago. Was that global warming? There is a drought in the desert. Is that a result of global warming? It is the ignorant who have no knowledge of science who support those who would and do try to profit on the ignorant. Greg is one of those ignorant people whose taxes are supporting the hoax!
A lot of Trump supporters would likely be amazed if somebody showed them how to turn over a snow globe.
@Greg: Even NASA has agreed that CO2 is not causing major storms. You just need to understand 6th grade science Greg. I know that may be too much for you.