160 Syrian villages deserted 'due to climate change'

[ensho]

One Hundred Sixty villages. that is not a small number.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090602/wl_mideast_afp/mideastsyriaenvironmentclimate


Some 160 villages in northern Syria were deserted by their residents in 2007 and 2008 because of climate change, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The report drawn up by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) warns of potential armed conflict for control of water resources in the Middle East.

"The 2007/8 drought caused significant hardship in rural areas of Syria. In the northeast of the country, a reported 160 villages have been entirely abandoned and the inhabitants have had to move to urban areas," it said.

In Syria and also in Jordan, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, "climate change threatens to reduce the availability of scarce water resources, increase food insecurity, hinder economic growth and lead to large-scale population movements," the report said.

"This could hold serious implications for peace in the region," the Canada-based institute said.

-long snip-

The IISD predicts even modest global warming would lead to a 30-percent drop in water in the Euphrates, which runs through Turkey, Syria and Iraq, while the Dead Sea would shrink in volume by 80 percent by the end of the century.
-------------------------------------------


and Obama did not even mention this

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. not to poke at this too much

but there have been droughts of 'biblical' proportion documented in that region for centuries...what caused those? Global warming? I believe global warming is an issue that we will have to deal with, but saying global warming is the reason these people are migrating is a little bit of a stretch...or maybe global warming IS cyclical...

sP

[ensho]

2. give it up - climate change is real and happening faster and faster

nt

[Winterblues]

3. Are you suggesting the Globe is not Warming?

Not even Republicans are arguing that. The only thing they are arguing is whether it is being aided by mankind.

[ensho]

4. how you reached the conclusion that I didn't think the earth is warming

is beyond me.

the earth is warming and changing due to human actions.

[Winterblues]

11. My post was not addressed to you

:shrug: To Prodical Junkie

[dionysus]

5. case in point you'll find any reason to blame obama for whatever it is you're complaining about...

:eyes:

[ensho]

6. I didn't mention Obama in this thread, you did!

nt

[dionysus]

7. the last line of your OP reads; "and Obama did not even mention this"

is it so reflexive now you don't even realize doing it?
:rofl:

[ensho]

9. sorry I missed that - have posted a lot this a.m. - no excuse

I'm not anti Obama, far from it. I just won't back down on the subject of the treatment of the world's women or climate change being our worst problem.

[dionysus]

10. fair enough i suppose

[countingbluecars]

8. It seems to me you did.

"and Obama did not even mention this"

Isn't this a continuation of your thread in GDP complaining about Obama's speech?