Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

the LITERARY HILL

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“Not the best time to buy a beach house”; Q & A on climate change with John R. Wennersten.

In 2017, John R. Wennersten and Denise Robbins issued a dire warning in their book, “Rising Tides: Climate Refugees in the TwentyFirst Century.” They predicted that the effects of climate change, such as drought and rising sea levels, would result in a veritable “human tsunami” of people forced to flee their homes and resettle in more livable areas. Since then, we have seen natural disasters of major proportions, with tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and earthquakes causing unprecedented devastation. We thought it was time to revisit the topic—and who better to turn to than our local expert, who has written nine books on environmental issues, including “Anacostia: The Death and Birth of An American River” and “Global Thirst: Water and Society in the 21st Century.”

Q: So, Jack, how are we doing at combatting climate change?

A: We certainly are not doing as well as we might have anticipated. There seems to be a serious disconnect between what we as average citizens see happening to our environment and what our political and business leaders in this country are doing to rectify our environmental problems. At this writing, the new governor of Virginia has chosen the biggest coal lobbyist in his state to be Secretary of the Environment for Virginia. When it comes to fossil fuels, the foxes always seem to be guarding the hen house. Heavy rains and heat and firestorms have become more of a problem. Asthma has become a much more difficult problem, with dust and other contaminants in the air. Plus, the thawing of the permafrost in Alaska and other places in the far North threatens to release large quantities of potentially dangerous methane into the earth’s atmosphere. Yes, we have some key environmental leaders in place with good ideas, such as John Kerry. But the pace of environmental degradation is taking place faster than the best intentions can correct. It’s not the best time to build

by Karen Lyon

John R. Wennersten, a local author who writes frequently on environmental issues, provides an update on climate change.

a beach house, live in low-lying riverine areas, or out West in dry areas. ny have been much more open to the problem of refugees. According to the latest statistics we probably will have 150-200 million climate refugees on the move on our planet by 2050. We in this country have hardly begin to assess the impact of this coming human tsunami. Environmental refugees don’t have the legal human rights standing before the United Nations that persecuted political refugees have and do not receive the help and assistance they need.

Q: Are there any specific examples you can share about areas that have become unlivable since you wrote the book? A: The most obvious cases are the Solomons and other Pacific atolls that are simply washing away from high tides. Also, rising temperatures make human habitation difficult. Once it reaches a mean temperature of 30 degrees Centigrade or 86 degrees Fahrenheit, humans begin to have lifestyle difficulties. Major parts of Africa and India come to mind as well as the northern tier of Latin America. In my thinking, the two most unlivable modern mega cities in the world today are Lagos, Nigeria, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Others like Tripoli in Libya and New Delhi, India, suffer from excruciating environmental problems as well. Large areas of the planet will become unlivable simply because of limited access to water or severely polluted drinking water.

Q: Have any environmental initiatives, such as reforestation and recycling, helped to alleviate the situation?

A: Reforestation has and can continue to work wonders, especially the planting of trees in areas lacking green infrastructure. Recycling has its benefits as well, but the millions of tons of plastic that float in our oceans and wash up on our shores is a plague that haunts us. Those of us who buy water in plastic bottles are accessories to this plague. We need to see a regeneration of public drinking water fountains in our parks and public places. We don’t need $2 bottled water. The one initiative that people are not talking about is nuclear power. As our ever-hungry electric grid continues to grow, how will we produce electricity? Solar and wind will not be enough to replace coal and natural gas. So, we shall look to nuclear power to make our electricity. And nuclear power brings

Q: In “Rising Tides,” you estimated that 25 to 50 million people would become climate refugees by 2020. Has that sad prediction come true?

A: According to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, there were in 2021 some 84 million displaced persons world-wide. Many of these people like Syrians are subject to both environmental and political pressures. Meanwhile the United States in 2020 admitted 11,000 refugees and granted asylum to approximately 31,000. Other countries like Denmark and Germa-