Climate Change Society

Climate Change Society: What affect will climate change

have on our society as we know it? This question poses
considerable analytical problems for governments around
the world. We all watched the events of Hurricane
Katrina unfold on our TV screens as the storm developed
over the Gulf of Mexico. We saw how this storm
intensified and struck the coast of the USA with the
ferocity unparalleled in recorded memory. These events
unfolded before our eyes and we were shocked at the
aftermath, where we saw civil society breakdown into
what some called total anarchy. Now imagine the same
event only 10 times worse, that is what the world could
be facing if the trends in climate change continue.

We are increasingly a coastal species, 44% of the world's

population (6.75 billion) or 2.9 billion people live within
150 km (ca.100 miles) of the coast. This is more people
than inhabited the entire planet in 1950. In 1995 alone,
an estimated 50 million people migrated to the coastal
zones of the United States.

Mass migration to the coasts will continue in the decades

ahead. Most of this population growth is concentrated in
large coastal cities. As coastal population grows, along
with the activities that accompany this growth, the
coastlines are radically altered. Clearing, land
reclamation, and channeling for flood and tidal waters
destroy coastal wetlands. Port development, road
building, coastal construction, tourist resorts and the
mining of beach sand for construction material obliterate
shorelines. These activities often increase coastal erosion
and damage habitats, for example, seagrass beds are
destroyed by boat propellers and coral reefs poisoned,
often away from the development site.

Much of our scientific research has focussed on trying to

understand the way that Climate Change and Global
Warming affects the planet. Recently, we are also turning
our attention to the human cost that these changes are
having on our society. One area of research that has
attracted considerable attention has been what effect
weather has on crime and social disorder. We are also
beginning to understand the connection
between biodiversity and human well-being, particularly
as ecosystems change as a result of human activities.

If the predictions of Global Warming and Climate

Change are correct then society should be urgently
working towards
developing adaptation and mitigation strategies to
combat these dramatic changes. Hurricane Katrina
provides us with a window into the aftermath of extreme
weather events and allows us to look other social
problems such as crime, health, and mental
health enabling us address these issues.

Finally, when considering 'climate change society', what

do we think about the moral responsibility of various
nations towards climate change, and does this vary
between countries? Global warming and extreme weather
conditions may have calamitous consequences for
the human rights of millions of people. Will climate
change impact differently on men and women?

The UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and many others

are convinced we are confronting a climate emergency to
which we must respond. However, the response by
leaders of their respective countries at
the Bali and Copenhagen Conferences does not bode well
for global cooperation. Climate change society