Manmade Disasters
War
War and Impacts of Humans
War is the conflict between two or more states or nations in which the conflict becomes violent. War can be classified as an anthropogenic (human-induced) disasters and is extremely intertwined with the natural world; man-made disasters may be caused from natural resource conflict, may be the result of natural disasters, lead to inaccessible resources for those plagued by it, and can cause the natural world to be destroyed in the process. The causes of war are divided into two major schools of thought: one assumes war to be the result of “certain innate biological and psychological factors” and the other assumes war to “certain social relations and institutions” (Frankel, 2024). In the case of biological factors, some of these are rooted in the territorial nature of most mammals and the access to resources. In the case of social relations it would be a result of things like government, class, and economic structures in place throughout society. In any case, war causes mass destruction and is a threat and threatened by climate change.
War and Climate
War is a threat to climate change because “the global military carbon footprint currently accounts for 5.5% of global emissions” which exceeds the entire footprint of Africa (Naidoo, 2023). Within this discussion, there are direct emissions from things like oil production, transportation (fighter jets, war vehicles, etc.), and impacting vegetation like in the Vietnam war when forests were decimated during fighting. There are also indirect emissions which can be trickier to quantify but could be the result of things similar to “the collapse of environmental governance associated with conflicts can create or sustain the conditions that allow polluting practices to flourish” Darbyshire, 2021).
At the same time this is true, climate change also indirectly causes war. This is the result of vulnerable regions across the world being plagued with more “food insecurity, urbanization, and competition over resources” like water (“United Nations Climate Change: Conflict and Climate”, 2022). Increases in soil degradation, natural disasters, exploitation of land, and uneven distribution of ecological resources between western nations and developing countries lead to nations facing economic instability which can trigger political instability as well as internal and external conflict.
Case Study: Syria
The Syrian Civil War began in 2011 when pro-democratic protests were challenging their current government authorities. Those in opposition to the government wanted an end to authoritarian rule. It has been hypothesized that the reason for the Syrian authoritarian regime is the result of the resource curse- which is when a country has a substantial amount of one resource which then becomes controlled by government authorities instead of economic diversification and privatization. Not only this, but the first major protest occurred in an “impoverished drought-stricken rural province” in southern Syria that had been heavily impacted by the worst drought the country has experienced in recent history between 2006 and 2010 (“Syrian Civil War”, 2024).
The result of extreme weather conditions had resulted in this at least ten year long civil war. The environmental and ecological impacts Syria faced didn’t stop there, though. For example, during the period of 2012-2019 it is estimated that there was a 20.4% loss of tree cover which leads to negative impacts on biodiversity and damages the livelihood of millions of people (Zwijnenburg, 2020). Furthermore, there were extreme instances of pollution in water due to the collapsing oil industry and waste management structures (Zwijnenburg, 2020).
Disease
Disease and Climate
Although it is not commonly thought of as a “natural disaster,” public health is an issue that is being effected by climate change. There are different levels of disease occurrences, starting at an outbreak, a small community is affected by a disease, to a pandemic like COVID-19: the disease becomes widespread over multiple countries. Outbreaks can also happen after other natural disasters due to unsafe circumstances caused by the destruction of property from severe weather.
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Public health issues have been seemingly increasing and becoming more intense due to climate change and rising global temperatures. Anthropogenic effects like decreased air quality due to industrialization and changing food security can cause health issues, and these issues happen at a quicker rate due to climate change. Global warming has an effect on the spread of sicknesses as well as “mild winters, warmer summers, and fewer days of frost make it easier for these other infectious diseases to expand into new geographic areas and infect more people “ (SOURCE). On the other hand, climate change will also affect water and marine environments, possibly leading to more algae blooms, which can hurt marine animals and are toxic to animals and people as well
Effects on Communities
As observed during COVID-19, disease outbreaks can affect communities negatively. With an increase in public health issues due to climate change, there will be more climate-change-related causalities. Temperature extremes and increased heat waves are leading to an increase in the number of casualties from heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses. A rising global temperature will also affect food and water security, and conditions will change, which can lead to malnutrition and more waterborne illnesses. Temperatures and climate changes will also lead to an increased and quicker spread of disease in the case of an epidemic or pandemic because of the changing weather, which has an effect on immune system defense and recovery.
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Case study
Due to disease and outbreaks becoming more of a concern as climate change continues to be an issue, mitigation techniques must be implemented to protect citizens and decrease the risk of casualties. COVID-19 was a recent pandemic that affected everyone all over the world, and although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against mass gatherings up until a couple of years ago, the FIFA World Cup was still happening in 2022. There was an uptick in COVID-19 cases; however, many were prevented due to the management and prevention methods that took place before the event.