It’s only 100 million dead people. No big deal.
by David Atkins
Yes, the world is still burning. And yes, catastrophic impacts will be felt in our lifetimes:
More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday.
As global average temperatures rise due to greenhouse gas emissions, the effects on the planet, such as melting ice caps, extreme weather, drought and rising sea levels, will threaten populations and livelihoods, said the report conducted by humanitarian organisation DARA.
It calculated that five million deaths occur each year from air pollution, hunger and disease as a result of climate change and carbon-intensive economies, and that toll would likely rise to six million a year by 2030 if current patterns of fossil fuel use continue.
More than 90 percent of those deaths will occur in developing countries, said the report that calculated the human and economic impact of climate change on 184 countries in 2010 and 2030. It was commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of 20 developing countries threatened by climate change.
No big deal, though. It’s mostly just the irrelevant people in developing countries. Nothing Americans need to worry about for now. Unless, of course, there’s instability leading to nuclear weapons falling into the wrong heads, or mass migrations causing riots and economic collapse, or famines and droughts that threaten the food and water supply. Those sorts of things.
But nothing to worry about here. Minor alterations to our tax code, protests against drone strikes, and implementation of punitive nation-state tariffs will totally solve the biggest collective moral crisis facing the human species in centuries. I’m sure of it.
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