The fight against global warming is often thought of solely as an environmental issue; however, the profound social, economic, and political impacts global warming poses threatens the rights of all humans. Unless a remedy to global warming is found, many people will have to change their lifestyles and relocate to different areas in order to successfully adapt to the growing changes global warming has wrought.
Poverty stricken people do not have the resources to deal with dramatic weather changes such as droughts. As pollution and temperatures increase, potentially fatal conditions such as overheating will become widespread and kill many. Due to the lack of money, these people will choose not to use air conditioning and will search for inexpensive alternative building materials to retain heat in their living corridors.
Island communities will also be forced to relocate due to rising sea levels and rainfalls. In search of new places to live, many families and even multiple generations will have to abandon their homes. In 2014, the first village that ever existed in Fiji, Japan was forced to move further inland as the nearby seawater began to rise and serious flooding struck the local village. Scientists currently estimate that an additional 34 villages will be forced to relocate due to eroding coastlines and increased deluge. Eventually, Japan could be seeing its other small islands such as Kiribati becoming barren due to increased sea levels. The lives of many and their loved ones will forever change as centuries of living in the same place and raising a family where one’s ancestors once lived will be too dangerous and impossible.
The profound social impacts global warming has go to show that this problem must be taken seriously and solved like any other problem in society. This was not something the people could have prevented by themselves; it is a problem that needs far more attention from the rest of the world than it is getting now, and it needs to start happening now. It is essential that we prevent catastrophic events from happening while we still have the power to initiate change. Global warming is becoming a killer in today’s society, and we need to make sure that global warming does not control us. We must control it, instead.