"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
Upton Sinclair
 

The New Refugee

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

In my song "Los Angeles" there's a line that goes:

there's a river flowing over me
a subtle kind of knowing
that soon we all may be refugees

The following article describes in literal terms what I was trying to convey. The notion that our planet, due to our harmful mismanagement, is creating a new type of refugee -- one displaced by climactic disruptions:

Chew on this word, jargon lovers. Envirogee.

    It carries more 21st century buzz than its semi-official designation climate refugee, which is a displaced individual who has been forced to migrate because of environmental devastation. Maybe the buzzword will catch on faster and shed some much-needed light on what will become a serious problem, probably by the end of this or the next decade. That light is crucial, because so far envirogees haven't been fully recognized by those who certify the civil liberties of Earth's various populations, whether that is the United Nations or local and national governments whose people are increasingly on the move for a whole new set of devastating reasons.

    In short, immigration is about to enter a new phase, which resembles an old one with a 21st century twist. For thousands of years, humanity has fled across Earth's surface fearing instability and in search of sustainability. But that resource war has kicked into overdrive thanks to our current climate crisis - a manufactured war with its own clock.

The rest of the story.

 
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