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Tag Archives: United States
U.S. Drought Worsens
Climate Central’s Andrew Freedman recently reported on the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest numbers, which reveal that “all categories of drought increased across the country between Nov. 20-27, with the largest increase occurring in an area from Alabama northeastward to Virginia.” Freedman also reports on a recent statement by Deutsche Bank Securities’ chief U.S. economist, Joseph LaVorgna, who predicted that “the drought will be responsible for a 0.5 to 1 percent drop in U.S. gross domestic product this year, a significant drop considering the relatively slow pace of growth throughout the year.”
Also, as we have written previously, the drought may have worrying security implications for other countries that are tied to the U.S. through the global food market. And given that a number of these countries have themselves experienced major droughts recently (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Spain, Argentina), this prolonged U.S. drought could have serious global consequences.
CIA Reorients its Climate Change Analysis
E&E reporter Annie Snider wrote this week on recent changes in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s climate change analysis infrastructure (the story was also picked up by the New York Times). The headline of the story emphasizes the closure of the CIA’s Center on Climate Change and National Security, but sources for the story seemed to suggest that this most likely represents a reorientation in where the CIA houses its climate analysis, and in what context, rather than a scaling back. As reported by Snider: (more…)
Just Released NRC Report “Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis”
The National Research Council’s report on climate change and national security, “Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis,” was released this morning. Here is the overview from their website:
Scientific evidence indicates that the global climate is moving outside the bounds of past experience and can be expected to put new stresses on societies around the world, prompting examination of a variety of plausible scenarios through which climate change might pose or alter security risks for the United States. A new report from the National Research Council offers recommendations to improve understanding of the links between climate and security, monitoring and analysis of the factors linking climate change to security risks, and the ability to anticipate potential security risks arising from climate phenomena.
The report focuses on social and political stresses outside the United States, and on security risks that might arise from situations in which climate-related events have consequences that exceed the capacity of affected populations to cope and respond. It also emphasizes climate-driven security risks that call for action within the coming decade either to anticipate or respond to security threats.
The full report can be downloaded here.
Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Climate Change
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a deal with Kyrgyzstan that would extend Russia’s military influence in the country, as well as its influence over Kyrgyzstan’s water and energy resources. According to OOSKA News: (more…)