Jon M. Queen On UN’s Warning: The Looming Threat of Global Warming on National Security

Phoenix Environmental Products & Services Director Jon M. Queen supports the UN’s call to militaries to redirect their growing expenses on operations and weaponry to the advancement of clean technologies.

UN Climate Secretariat Head Christiana Figueres states that military operations emit a significant amount of carbon into the atmosphere fuelling global warming. Figueres adds that environmental pollution is responsible for water stress, declining crop yields, and extreme storms worldwide.

  • Water stress. This occurs when the annual water supply in an area drops below 17,000 cubic meters per person causing periodic water shortages. Water stress is caused by the continuous growth in population and the depleting volume water.
  • Declining crop yields. Jon M. Queen says that since 1981, the world has seen a decline in crop yield by 40 million tons compared to the expected farm produce due to the rise in temperatures.
  • Damage from extreme storms. In 2008 alone, extreme storms that struck developing nations brought along record-breaking rainfall and flash floods that have caused major economic damages. Moreover, 20 million people have been displaced due to the catastrophes.

The UN stresses that the impact of global warming is not on the environment alone; it poses a great threat on economic stability and national security as well. These pressing concerns can ignite a global diaspora and regional conflicts due to the scarcity of local resources and intense competition for resources among nations.

More about Jon Queen’s environmental advocacies can be found at www.jonmqueen.org.