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Climate Change and National Security Strategies: Assessing a Growing Trend
›It is uncomfortably easy to find connections between environmental change and security around the globe. 2023 began with heat records in Europe, a deadly cyclone in New Zealand, and military deployments in response to forest fires ravaging Canada. An untimely early heatwave scorched Spain and endangered its agricultural production. Cyclone Mocha destroyed the livelihoods of thousands in northwestern Myanmar, and Typhoon Mawar caused “significant damage” to a terminal building on Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base.
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Tanker Water Markets: A Path to Achieving SDG 6
›Nearly two-thirds of the world’s population experiences some level of water scarcity—and an estimated one billion urban residents face unreliable drinking water supplies. This global water crisis not only has been recognized by the United Nations, but also prioritized for action as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: “Access to Water and Sanitation for All”.
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Defueling California’s Wildfires with Sheep
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // August 10, 2023 // By Alastair BlandThe excited bleating of sheep crescendos as farmer Sarah Keiser approaches. “Hi babies,” she says as she steps over a deactivated electric fence and greets the eager flock. It is late July, it hasn’t rained for two months, and the hills around the town of Penngrove, in northern California, have turned a dull brown. -
ECSP Weekly Watch | July 24 – 28
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Fixing the World’s Broken Food Systems
The United Nations summit on the state of the world’s food systems took place in Rome, Italy, this week, building on the work of a previous convening in 2021. The meeting focused on the environmental impact of agriculture and making food production more sustainable.
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No Water, No Food – Glacier Loss Threatens US and Chinese Agriculture
›Picture this: A parade of yaks carrying insulated boxes containing meter-long ice core samples from Tibetan glaciers. “Yaks are like cats,” elite glacier scientist Lonnie Thompson explained in a 2023 Wilson Center webinar. They like to wander off — and it takes experienced Tibetan yak herders to keep them moving in the same direction.
Yet these yak-schlepped ice cores are essential to climate science, added Ellen Mosely Thompson. They store thousands of years of atmospheric dust and gasses in distinct layers and serve as a record of our changing climate.
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Want to Beat Global Warming? Beat Global Indebtedness First
›The world has a sobering debt problem. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the ensuing shocks to commodity prices, governments everywhere have borrowed enormous sums to promote stability and kickstart recovery.
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The Climate Security Nexus: A Transatlantic Conversation With NATO
›July 21, 2023 // By Claire DoyleFrom individual health risks to geopolitical tensions, climate impacts are relevant to every facet of peace and security. Focus on these links has sharpened in recent years, as governments and international security organizations like NATO increasingly recognize that climate responses must be part of promoting peace and security.
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Examining China’s Impact on Mining in Africa: Critiques and Credible Responses
›The increased demand for minerals driven by the renewable energy transition has put China’s involvement in mining activities in Africa in the spotlight. But understanding the challenges posed by this activity means we need to situate it within broader contexts.
Showing posts from category environment.