2 thoughts on “Madagascar is a Climate Disaster Area, and Needs Help Now”
After many years of decrying the reluctance of media to mention climate change, I’m now frustrated by the number of stories that only attribute climate change to regional problems, when there are several other major contributing factors. In southern Louisiana, for example, while sea-level rise is clearly aggravating the problem, much of the lost of marshland is due to (1) deprivation of silt from natural flooding (levee-throttled rivers) and (2) over-channeling of the swamp for commercial transport (including oil and gas equipment and supplies).
Likewise, Madagascar, once with vast tracts of lush forest, has long suffered from problems related to clearing the vast majority of trees (with the exception of the traditionally value baobab). Of course climate change is making things worse, but most of the damage has already been done.
After many years of decrying the reluctance of media to mention climate change, I’m now frustrated by the number of stories that only attribute climate change to regional problems, when there are several other major contributing factors. In southern Louisiana, for example, while sea-level rise is clearly aggravating the problem, much of the lost of marshland is due to (1) deprivation of silt from natural flooding (levee-throttled rivers) and (2) over-channeling of the swamp for commercial transport (including oil and gas equipment and supplies).
Likewise, Madagascar, once with vast tracts of lush forest, has long suffered from problems related to clearing the vast majority of trees (with the exception of the traditionally value baobab). Of course climate change is making things worse, but most of the damage has already been done.
The real shame of it is that Madagascar has the most biologically diverse ecosytem on the planet.