Scientific American: Climate Refugees of Syria Jan Mel Poller
This is not about whether climate change is real or not. This is about people believing a leader so much that they will believe and say things that are totally absurd. We should all be careful not to fall into the same trap.Scientific American is the oldest periodical published in the United States. It was first published in 1845, 171 years ago. I have been reading Scientific American since I started college as a physics major back in January, 1957. I enjoy reading a wide range of articles on medicine, cosmology, physics, archeology, paleontology and whatever else they publish.
In the last few years they have added Politically Correct articles and that bothers me.
The March, 2016 issue features the article “Climate Refugees of Syria” under the category “Sustainability”. The title:
The Ominous Story of Syria’s Climate Refugees
Farmers who have escaped the battle-torn nation explain how drought and government abuse have driven social violence
This article is written in the fine tradition of Rolling Stone’s college rape story. It is the story of Kemal Ali. In true pseudo-documentary tradition, that is not his real name so you can’t possibly check out the story.
Kemal Ali was a well driller. Because of a drought, exasperated by Climate Change, the water table fell so far that he could no longer drill to it and lost his income. There is mention of corruption that made well drilling impossibly expensive. He decided to go through Turkey to Greece and Europe. No mention is made about how he would make a living in Europe.
The article says the drought lasted from 2006 to 2010. It ended 6 years ago. On the way, the bus he was in was attacked. He was wounded and lost the use of his legs so now he languishes in a camp on the Greek isle of Lesbos.So we have a nice, personalized drama.Did Syrians flee Syria during the 2006-2010 drought? Nope.
If you asked Syrians why they fled their homes, do you think any one of them would say “Climate change, of course. Our average temperature is 1o warmer now”? Is it more likely they would say, “I feared Assad’s barrel bombs and poison gas and I feared Da’esh (ISIS) cutting off my head after raping my wife”?
The Syrians fled Syria for Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. All share the same climate and the same drought. They don’t share Da’esh.
California has a drought. Californians are fleeing California for other states. Why? Not for the drought. It is because it has become a high-tax state with a “progressive” government. California is working now to end their water problems. They are working with Israeli companies to solve their water shortage the same way Israel solved its water shortage problems.
The obvious answer to Syria’s water problem is to make peace with Israel and use Israeli technology to end the water problems as they have done in Israel.
I am left with the impression that the article is to provide support for the Progressive Agenda. I do not understand how this was in a scientific magazine and not a political one. The only thing it really says about climate is that there was a drought and climate change made it worse.
Jan Mel Poller
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