Should U.S. View Climate As If It Were a Vulnerable, Low-Lying State?

"Highly vulnerable countries including small island states .... have drawn much attention due to their extreme exposure to sea level rise and the perception that many larger greenhouse gas emitters aren’t willing to take the tough steps necessary to save them.

But Thomas Lovejoy, a noted environmental scientist and ecologist who spoke with me from Paris Thursday, said he found this common narrative of a divide between major emitters (especially the U.S.) and small islands rather odd, in the following sense.

'People are talking about sea level rise and the fate of small island states as though it has nothing to do with the rest of the world,' said Lovejoy, a professor at George Mason University who has conducted decades of research on the Amazon rainforest, and who is also a senior fellow at the U.N. Foundation. 'And we know that it will be disastrous for the eastern United States coastline, and the Gulf Coast.'

'Basically, we should make common cause with the small island states,' Lovejoy says."

Chris Mooney reports for the Washington Post December 4, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Climate Refugees and a Collapsing City" (Inter Press Service)

"Mali Grapples With Adapting to Climate Change" (New York Times)

"Climate Change Already Impacting Migration Patterns Around the World" (Aljazeera America)

"Pacific Islanders: Climate Change Creates New Category of Refugees" (Christian Science Monitor)

"Paris Climate Talks: What's at Stake for the World's Coasts" (InsideClimate News)