At a recent Towers Perrin event in New York City, world-renowned paleoanthropologist Dr. Richard Leakey shared his insights on climate change with senior executives from the insurance industry. Dr. Leakey’s scientific insights are based on historical patterns that have occurred over thousands of years.
Climate Change
* The last major climate change followed the Ice Age. A major change is happening again, forcing adaptation of our species and others.
* Ice is melting at an unprecedented rate in glaciers that date back thousands of years and in mountain ranges all over the globe. The huge volume of cold water from melting glaciers will affect major currents in the ocean that drive precipitation in various parts of the world.
* Entire communities may ultimately have to move because there is no water. Rivers that used to run throughout the year in Africa are now dry for four to five months a year, in part because there is simply less precipitation. Water levels in the Colorado and Mississippi rivers show the same pattern.
* A sea level rise of three to five feet over the next 30 years (maybe sooner) would likely displace a billion people worldwide. Whenever it happens, it will be catastrophic to the world as we know it.
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