Guest essay by Eric Worrall
A very confused Guardian article which seems to suggest global warming is reproducing 1930s dust bowl conditions, and poor forest management is a climate migration issue.
Americans are becoming climate migrants before our eyes
Alex Domash
Fri 2 Oct 2020 22.05 AESTWhile the US closes the doors on climate migrants from abroad, it must acknowledge that the problem has already come home
In November 2018, I traveled with a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants as they marched across Mexico towards the US border. While some were seeking refuge in the US from gang violence or political persecution, many others were looking to escape something much more subtle: climate change. The Trump administration decried these climate migrants as “invaders” and attempted to build a wall to keep them out.
…
The message from the visceral scenes unfolding in the western US is clear: climate displacement isn’t something that happens only outside of our borders. It has already begun in the US, and we can no longer turn our backs on the more than 20 million climate migrants worldwide.
…
But the American dream of tomorrow is also under great stress. The climate displacement of the Dust Bowl era is already here – and has been here for many, many years.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/02/climate-change-migration-us-wildfires
Little of what Alex Domash describes has anything to do with anthropogenic climate change.
The dust bowl was not the product of anthropogenic CO2, it was a natural climate shift – which could happen again, anytime. Even most alarmists admit there wasn’t enough anthropogenic CO2 in the early 20th century to make much of a difference.
Reconstructions of the past US climate suggests pre-Columbian America was plagued by decades long mega-droughts, centuries before anthropogenic CO2 became a significant issue.
As for the forest fires, even greens like California Governor Gavin Newsom sometimes admit there have been a few shortcomings with forest management.
My point is, another severe US drought could happen anytime, regardless of what happens to anthropogenic CO2.
The question is, what to do about it. Do you bunker down with wind turbines and solar panels, and hope the rains come this year?
Or do you think ahead, release as much CO2 plant fertiliser as is convenient, and build up national engineering and industrial capabilities, to create the capacity to adapt to and overcome natural disasters like droughts?
Given a future mega-drought or dust bowl is inevitable, regardless of climate policy, it surely makes more sense to ensure we can do something about it when it happens, to ensure we have the economic and engineering capacity to affordably transport or even desalinate gigalitres of water, to replace whatever rainfall is lost to the drought.
Greens like Alex might want to cower in their eco-bunkers, or run away from the pain, accepting whatever nature throws their way. I prefer a future of vast engineering projects, in which mankind has achieved our utmost potential, including where necessary taking control of nature. A future in which disasters like extended droughts no longer pose any threat to national wellbeing and prosperity.
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From the boxed excepts in the above article that were taken from the cited The Guardian article:
“.. . migrants as they marched across Mexico towards the US border. While some were seeking refuge in the US from gang violence or political persecution, many others were looking to escape something much more subtle: climate change.”
And by what objective data did The Guardian establish the truth of that assertion? And what was the actual percentage (the “many others”) that were emigrating from Central and South America specifically because of climate change™? And were they doing it because of a rise of 0.14 °C (0.25 °F) in temperature over the last 10 years, or because of a rise of 30 mm (1.2 inches) in sea level over the last 10 years, or because of something else, such as too much rain or too little rain?
And here is where the outright stupidity of The Guardian reaches its peak, at least in regard to this particular article it published: what is the rationale for those claimed to be wanting to immigrate to the US, who are smart enough to claim their reason for doing so was to flee “climate change”, for not at the same time being smart enough to understand the US is ALSO experiencing “climate change”?
Such fluff . . . but completely expected from The Guardian.
We’ll be glad to buy their timber products if they ever restart beneficial forestry again.
But migrants from California won’t be welcome to knowledgeable freedom loving people. Those moving from California to escape the problems they voted for bring their ultra-stupid voting destructiveness with them when they move. No thanks.
Political Climate Change (PCC) is a first-order forcing of Catastrophic Anthropogenic Immigration Reform (CAIR).
It appears to be a “perfect storm” of dislocation ongoing around the world. “Climate”
not always the motivating factor. Boeing is moving their 787 production line
to the east coast and going non-union. Washington is just CA-north IMO.
Depending on how the political decisions go this might be a trend for a while.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/10/01/boeing-moving-all-787-production-away-from-seattle-area-possibly-costing-1000-jobs/#6be0de1f1e52
Dan-O,
And it looks like Washinton’s idea for how to prevent them from moving is to threaten to tax them more! That should work out well! When will Progressive politicians realize that they and their policies are not welcomed by any free-thinking and prosperous people? Most likely right after pigs fly!
The Forbes article point to a tax break of $1.4 Billion between 2014-2020,
I think that the combination of covid effects on travel especially
airlines is a major factor. But yes I agree with your view on the progressive
policys esp the “climate change/energy ” policys coming from Inslee’s administration.
The left coast governors Inslee , Brown, and Newsom are marching lockstep
over a cliff. I hope that the aero sector can hang on and get through this.
“Australia is currently suffering a severe drought. ”
Only in Guardianworld™ , not in the real one.
http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap/rain/index.jsp?colour=colour&time=latest&step=0&map=drought&period=3month&area=nat
Yes. Just been at Forbes, NSW, which last year was badly drought affected. Massive crops sucking in all available sunshine, heaps of water on the ground, heaps of insects. I have no doubt that the financial effects of the drought are continuing though, until some money starts flowing through the local economy.
“A very confused Guardian article”
Bad form—redundant!
Proper form:
1) A very confused article
or
2) A Guardian article
To cite H L Mencken when asked to explain what a tautology is:
“It means saying the same thing twice, but using different words, like “ignorant politician””
Uhhh, guess what?
Americans citizens moving from one state to another cannot be hindered by the Government.
That’s called “Freedom” here in US of A.
The baseless claim that they are leaving because of baseless claim of CAGW (or whatever cloaks they throw over the original baseless claim) is, itself, a baseless claim.
They are leaving CA because of the taxes, the politics, the poop in the streets of “sanctuary cities”, the unreliable “green energy” policies, etc. etc.
It IS a “mannmade” migration but “Climate” has little or nothing to do with it.
(If it was “Climate”, why are people also leaving New York?)
Not one of the discussions of fires above mentioned the conditions that cause all mega fires: IGNITION with WIND. Without ignition there is no fire. Without wind we can contain and put out fires. 10-20 mph prior mitigation, fire breads, firewise, climate, etc. can help minimize size and damage. 20-50 mph the most we can do is slow it down and protect property; any pre-conditions much don’t matter. Above 50 mph it’s gonna do what it’s gonna do, so the best we can do is try to get everyone out safely. You may quibble with the limit points but the fact is that the areas with traditional high seasonal winds are going to have mega fires because ignition is going to sometime happen at the wrong time.
“Subtle” is not how you spell “nonexistent”.
Does that mean that those people who are trying to leave the California hellhole caused by Democratic policy decisions rather than because of climate problems will have problems getting into the other states?
Soul erosion is what happens if you read too many Guardian articles
Refugees are already fleeing California in droves. The only ones left in my wife’s family are two retirement age looney left Liberals who have never made enough to pay taxes. The rest are gone. Idaho, Uta mostly but Texas as well. It’s not climate they are fleeing. It’s politics. The problem is the ones who flee and take the stupid politics that created the mess with them and import it to places that haven’t gone mad.
What a load of ill-informed utter rubbish. I don’t know why anyone reads the ‘Gaudrain’ anymore.
I like the visual symbol of donkeys leaving California. They overgrazed at their state legislature and now they must migrate.