To the Editor:
Climate change is the issue of the hour and climbing. Not many people may find this connection, but as we have been discussing in my environmental security course, climate change and the associated environmental degradation problems are a risk to national security.
Climate change does not know any borders and thus one country’s problem can become that of the neighboring or even an overseas country. I believe that there should be a complete separate climate change task force under the main national security team. This is necessary because climate change and its effects could cause violent conflict as resources deplete and the climate changes (as in the name), which intensifies the frequency and intensity of different weather systems. This would create stress on the land that everyone, especially developing countries, relies on for everyday survival. With shortages and changes in availability of resources, there is an increased risk of violence between different groups, especially ethnically different ones, that need the same resource. If other countries resort to violence or mismanage their more vulnerable resources it can affect us on US soil because in this globalizing world most resources are interconnected and it can also affect our international relations where we may have to get involved and risk the lives of our own people. Climate change is an issue that needs to be examined closely by the general public. For more information people should look at the Environmental Protection Agency website and other reliable resources that can tell you about the consequences of climate change that are closer to home than you think.
Gillian Hunt
McLean