Climate Refugees: A Cordial Introduction

by Betsy Shirley 10-06-2010

[Editor’s Note: On October 10 (10.10.10), 350.org is coordinating 2700 events in 150 countries to address the concerns of climate change together as a planet. Learn more about reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and the atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by clicking here.]

When polite conversation turns to touchy subjects like war and religion, etiquette guru Emily Post advises readers to talk about something neutral  ¢â‚¬ ¦ like weather.  ¢â‚¬Å“The variability of weather, ¢â‚¬  she explains, seems  ¢â‚¬Å“purposely devised to furnish mankind with unfailing material for conversation. ¢â‚¬ 

And film director Michael Nash agrees  ¢â‚¬ ¦ mostly. The  ¢â‚¬Å“variability of weather ¢â‚¬  certainly furnishes his 2010 documentary Climate Refugees with plenty of material. However, as he should (tactfully) remind Ms. Post, those looking for less-touchy subjects should steer clear of weather changes; according to Climate Refugees, climate change will become our greatest source of global conflict in coming years. That ¢â‚¬â„¢s right. The weather.

Though the pond is teeming with films about climate change, Climate Refugees deserves distinction for cordially introducing its viewers to the existence of climate refugees, or the 25 million people who have already been forced out of their homes because of devastating changes in their normal climate.

Consider Tuvalu, the island nation in the South Pacific expected to be the first country to entirely disappear because of rising sea levels. By 2020, these islands are predicted to be completely underwater and the 12,000 people who call Tuvalu home will become refugees in Australia, New Zealand, or Japan.

Yet, as the Tuvaluans are well aware, neighboring countries do not welcome everyone:  ¢â‚¬Å“You cannot automatically just go there, ¢â‚¬  explains a Tuvaluan grandmother,  ¢â‚¬Å“They have set criteria for people to migrate and they need employment opportunities to be offered. But for an old woman like me, no chance at all. ¢â‚¬  It ¢â‚¬â„¢s a sobering thought: Of the 50 million people worldwide estimated to lose their homes because of climate change by 2011, many will be unable to find refuge, especially the poor, elderly, and uneducated  ¢â‚¬” now there ¢â‚¬â„¢s a touchy subject.

Betsy Shirley is an editorial assistant at Sojourners.

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/10/06/climate-refugees-a-cordial-introduction/