On July 28, 2015, the Defense Department issued a report that was requested by the Senate Appropriations Committee, "National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risk and a Changing Climate."
The report stated that global climate change will threaten stability in a number of countries, including the United States. Areas that are already impoverished or unstable are significantly more vulnerable to disruption, and less able to respond with adaptation. The Pentagon has identified climate change as a security risk because it will degrade living conditions - health, housing, personal security, and access to food and water.
"It is in this context," Pentagon officials stated, "that the department must consider the effects of climate change - such as sea level rise, shifting climate zones and more frequent and intense severe weather events - and how these effects could impact national security," such as by forcing some populations to migrate, causing friction and competition for resources.
Here in the U.S., we are seeing more severe and numerous tornadoes, even in January; severe, ahistorical flooding after ground-scorching drought; widespread wildfires exacerbated by the growing plague of forest-destroying pine beetles; and hurricanes swamping major cities, made more intense with the ever higher sea levels.
Among the many preparations that U.S. citizens are urged to make to survive severe weather events are the following.
Ready.gov outlines a family emergency plan to coordinate families (with each member playing a role), printed and carried at all times. Among many suggestions: maintaining a list of emergency phone numbers - police, fire, and rescue agencies; power companies; insurance providers; family, friends and co-workers programmed into one's phone and printed, for the billfold. Also, plan where to meet if family is separated, with alternative arrangements, cross-coordinated with friends. Keep phones fully charged, with additional batteries and car-chargers available; and remember to forward your home phone number to your cell phone, in event of evacuation. Wunderground.com offers a "Disaster Supply List" of items to have on hand in event of disaster.
We may not be able to control severe climate change phenomena, but we can prepare and protect our loved ones.
Kirby MacLaurin
Durango
