Think the world's politicians are behaving badly now? Just wait for a few more natural disasters to hit, add rapidly diminishing resources and steadily increasing population numbers to the mix, and you have yourself a recipe for all-out global conflict. "Climate change will drive people and countries into conflict," journalist and author Gwynne Dyer explains. "It all comes down to food. The hotter it gets, the less food we grow."
But don't stay at home crumpled in a fetal position and whimpering over the bad news. Instead, head to Books & Books this Wednesday to hear Dyer discuss his new book, Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats.
The author of seven other titles, Dyer is no stranger to combat, having earned his PhD in military and Middle Eastern history from the University of London and serving in the Canadian, British, and American navies. For more than three decades now, he has covered international affairs as a freelance journalist, focusing to a large degree on war and its long-term aftereffects.
With Climate Wars, however, Dyer went for a different approach: "You get to the point where wars aren't interesting anymore. What's more interesting is what causes them." And when asked how much time he suspects the human race has left on this rapidly heating planet, Dyer isn't very optimistic. He theorizes: "It will happen faster than the official forecasts. You can go to three degrees Fahrenheit and deal with it. Past that you lose control."
Gwynne Dyer reads from Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats. Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. The event begins at 8 p.m., and admission is free. Call 305-442-4408 or visit booksandbooks.com.
-- Riki Altman
