50 million desertification refugees in next 10 years

More than 200 experts from 25 countries produced a report that warns of a grim outlook if we do not combat the growing problem of advancing deserts.

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Tens of millions of people could be driven from their homes by encroaching deserts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, a report says. The study by the United Nations University suggests climate change is making desertification "the greatest environmental challenge of our times". If action is not taken, the report warns that some 50 million people could be displaced within the next 10 years. The study was produced by more than 200 experts from 25 countries. Re-thinking Policies to Cope with Desertification(1.75MB) The UN report suggests that new farming practices, such as encouraging forests in dryland areas, were simple measures that could remove more carbon from the atmosphere and also prevent the spread of deserts. "Things like ecotourism or using solar energy to create other activities."

Latest global warming first: Climate Wars

We've already had the world's first climate refugees, are we having the world's first climate war in Sudan? Will climate change soon cause the world's first western agricultural collapse, in Australia, if the rains don't fall this month?

clipped from www.climateark.org All of the predicted catastrophic consequences of climate change are happening already, though not yet ramped up to their full potential for death and destruction. We are already witnessing the world's first climate change war in Darfur, Sudan [more | more2]; and the first continental scale emergency in Australia's "big dry" drought. It has been suggested that the real root of the Darfur conflict is ferocious drought and famine that since mid-1980s transformed Sudan and the whole Horn of Africa "Those who were prepared to kill, rape and pillage were drawn from the ranks of the desperate, ripped from their traditional way of life by a catastrophic change in the weather.. there is the very real prospect it [climate change] will lead to more conflicts like Darfur

Global Warning Climate Change