Climate change and geo-engineering
MODERN TECHNOLOGIES AND CONFLICTS
12.11.2018
Michael Myklín

Content of lecture
•Cliate change
•Geo-engineering
•Case study: Role of environmental factors behind the outbreak of Syrian civil war

Climate change
•Historical norm, but…
•Ice Age
•Record concetration of CO2
•Negative impacts
•Melting of glaciers, permafrost
•More frequent weather extremes, draught
•Geopolitical impacts
•Positive impacts
•Agriculture
•Shipping
◦

Geo-engineering
•SRM – Solar Radiation Management
•Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
•High-tech / Low-tech
•Space mirrors
•The Great Green Wall of China
•Carbon capture
•Technical / Organic
•Weather control
•Source of conspiracy theories– HAARP
•Nuclear holocaustJ

Role of environmental factors behind the outbreak of Syrian civil war
CASE STUDY


Syria – quickly and briefly
•2010
•Population 20,7 mil.
•2018
•6,2 mil. IDPs
•5,6 mil. refugees in the region
◦(UN OCHA 2018)
◦
•Pre-war economy
•Agriculture
•Oil extraction
•Food and textile industry

Syria – water resources and agriculture
C:\Users\Miki\Disk Google\Škola Mgr\2. semestr\Výzkum konfliktů\horse fucking shitface\tabulka
průtoku eufratu v jarabulusu.png

Draught 2006-2010
• Worst draught in the Mediterranean in 900 years? (Cook et al. 2009)
• Massive reduction of rainfall
•Temperature increase and reduction of rainfall during the winter months
•Eastern Syria: 1,3 mil people affected, 800 thousand lost their living
•Livestock reduction– decrease of livestock population by 60 %
•Government´s mistakes
•Selling the stockpiles of wheat
•Cultivation of cotton
•Ineffective method of irrigation
•Regulation of well drilling

Impacts of draught
• Is the draught direct cause behind the Syrian civil war?

• Migration to the cities (Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Homs)
• Increase of unemplyement
• Singificant increase of prices of food, water and fuel
• Reduction of agricultural land


•

Conflict potential of climate change
• Climate change
• Decreasing level of ground water in China, India, USA
• Loss of agricultural land
•Uneconomic agriculture
•Erosion
•Desertification
•Urbanisation
• Risnig sea levels
•Glaciers
•
• Population growth