this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2023
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The vast majority of the pain and sacrifice would be on the rich—they're the ones who own bunker-fuel-burning cargo ships and fly everywhere on private jets—so there isn't much reason for the rest of us to be overly worried.
Trouble is, most people worship the rich…
I feel the opposite. Most environmental issues affect the poor. The rich have much more flexibility than the rest of us.
You can't pick up farmland and move it. As climate zones shift and hit those mega monoculture farms (see rice as a current example) we see increased risk of famine. The rich can go somewhere less affected. They can import their own food. They can crank up their AC. They can swim in their pools. Can you move or double your cooling bill?
Once famine hits, you will see mass migration. See how well we deal with that now across the world. Rich people don't plead for asylum. Why do you think they hoard that money? They don't need it now. But when push comes to shove, that money carries a ton of weight.
We dont really know what areas will get hit either, because environmental variable are hard to predict. Countries that fight refugees today could be asking those very people for help tomorrow.
They were saying that it is the rich would would feel the sacrifice IF we were to actually try and do something. They are the ones who would have to change the most. They weren't implying that the rich will suffer the effects of climate change more than the poor.