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Part 4 of the “We’re All Gonna Die!” series focuses on Africa, the victim continent.

Africa most vulnerable to global warming effects, U.N. says

Africa produces a tiny fraction of the world’s greenhouse gases but is particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming, U.N. environmental experts said Tuesday at a conference of African environment ministers here.

Some of those present had harsh words for the developed world, in particular the United States, the largest producer of greenhouse gases. They said industrialized nations are pressing Africans to reduce gas emissions while not doing enough themselves.

“Computer models project major changes in precipitation patterns on the continent, which could lead to food shortages and increased desertification,” says a United Nations Environment Program report released at the conference. “Yet on the whole, African nations lack the resources and technology to address such changes.”

…Lake Chad, which was once the second-largest wetland in Africa and supports 20 million people, is down to 5% of its size in 1973.

The report says forests, which cover 20% of Africa, are disappearing faster in Africa than on any other continent. Deforestation is a major concern in 35 African nations. The continent accounts for 15,500 square miles of the 50,000 square miles of forest lost globally each year.

“If we let things go on as they are, it is going to have a catastrophic effect on humanity,” said Andre Okombi Salissa, environmental minister of the Republic of Congo and president of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment.

He called on the U.S. to cut its greenhouse emissions.

“Many times people think that Africans don’t know how to look after the environment because they’re not literate,” said Salissa. “But often they do know how to look after the environment and the developed countries do not. We need to look at this hypocrisy.”

The picture caption declares that Lake Chad “has shrunk in the last 35 years because of climate change.” Does that statement make sense? It’s essentially saying that the climate has changed because of climate change. Except there’s actually hidden meaning in the phrase beyond just the plain language.

What we have here is a real life example of newspeak, a case of language being used to manipulate thought. The phrase “climate change” has replaced “global warming” in many instances because it allows the speaker to dodge criticism. After all, that climate changes is without question. Unfortunately for honest debate, users of the phrase “climate change” mean more than just variation in climate, they mean man-made climate change (i.e. anthropogenic global warming). Less discerning listeners, who know that climate does indeed change, are susceptible to this bombardment of hidden implications that, not only is climate changing, but we’re responsible (was climate static before man?).

It also provides an infinite number of excuses for ever more government and regulation, which is no coincidence.

Global Warming We're All Gonna Die!