what havoc is global warming causing in the mid east?

[donsu]

anyone know?

[Ezlivin]

1. An increased production of tar babies to which this admin must cling

RE: Tony Snow

No offense meant by my reuse of the slang term.

[donsu]

2. what does that have to do with global warming?

nt

[Ezlivin]

10. Are you familiar with asphalt or macadam roads?

Here in the south they tend to get soft and bubble when it gets hot. The street in front of my house is asphalt and the last two weeks of 100°+ weather has created lots of tar bubbles (babies).

Hence my statement...

[skids]

3. It aggravates desertification and drought.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/tunisia/?id=16764

ttp://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=5944&method=full

[donsu]

4. leading to water wars?

as in fighting over Lebanon's river?

[skids]

5. Is the river even usable anymore?

Water wars are one thing -- millions and millions of famine refugees are another.

[Buzz Clik]

7. This will be a problem in the future, but not now. n/t

[donsu]

9. sadly the future is now

nt

[skids]

11. Pretty much.

Noticible effects are already here, they just get worse and have more impact as time goes on.

[Buzz Clik]

6. So, please tell me ... how much impact has global had in the ME to date?

The big name scientists and research teams suggest that the increase in average temperatures is less than one degree and will remain less than one degree for at least ten and probably twenty years.

And you're asking if global warming has somehow rekindled a war that's been going on for generations? The answer is NO.

[donsu]

8. that's not what I asked and you know it

nt

[Buzz Clik]

13. Your question: "what havoc is global warming causing in the mid east?"

I answered my interpretation of the question -- "Is anthropogenically-induced global warming responsible for the current conflicts in the Middle East?" I gave my answer.

If you're asking about increased temperatures in general, human-induced or otherwise, then it's a totally different ballgame. Considering the importance of water in the ME, increased temperatures and associated climate changes will raise hell over there.

But, if your answer is focusing solely on changes induced by human activities, my answer remains the same.

[skids]

12. You speak as if an average increase of one degree...

...is a small thing. It isn't.

And I didn't take the OP as blaming the current conflict on GW... er I should spell that out -- global warming, either.

[Buzz Clik]

14. Did I imply that?

I interpreted the question as being related to today's problems. The amount of warming as of today attributable to human activies still has not emerged from the noise of natural fluctuations and is not expected to for about 20 years. When that happens, all changes will have heavy consequences and will be nearly irreversible.

[skids]

15. The changes are already here, not 20 years out.

In answer to your question, then:

Iran is also losing its battle with the desert. Mohammad Jarian, who heads Iran\u2019s Anti-Desertification Organization, reported in 2002 that sand storms had buried 124 villages in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, forcing their abandonment. Drifting sands had covered grazing areas, starving livestock and depriving villagers of their livelihood.

Neighboring Afghanistan is faced with a similar situation. The Registan Desert is migrating westward, encroaching on agricultural areas. A U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) team reports that \u201cup to 100 villages have been submerged by windblown dust and sand.\u201d In the country\u2019s northwest, sand dunes are moving onto agricultural land in the upper reaches of the Amu Darya basin, their path cleared by the loss of stabilizing vegetation from firewood gathering and overgrazing. The UNEP team observed sand dunes 15 meters high blocking roads, forcing residents to establish new routes.

http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Seg/PB2ch05_ss5.htm