Climate study forecasts "polar cities" for refugees in Antarctica

By Dan Bloom

McMURDOSTATION,ANTARCTICA(RUSHPRNEWS)10/13/08 -- It might be hard to fathom right now, but according to the Forum for the Future in Britain, "climate refugees" might be living in parts of Antarctica in the year 2030. "Climate refugees" is a term coined last year by Robin Broner, a climate and migration researcher in Alaska, and it may very well be part of our vocabulary very soon.

The forum says that while the idea of refugees migrating to the South Pole in 20 years or so might seem far-fetched to most people, his study group intended to use the image in order to prod people into thinking hard about the future of humankind. Although the 76-page study did not mention "polar cities" as the places where these climate refugees would take shelter in Antarctica, it's fairly certain that they had these kind of "Lovelock Retreats" in mind.

The study's scenarios ran the gamut from A to Z, but perhaps the most noteworthy was the idea of climate refugees moving down to Antarctica due to of global warming.

"We still have the chance to alter the future," Peter Madden, head of the forum, told Alister Doyle, a Reuters reporter based in Oslo, Norway. "This is what the world could be like and some of these options are not very pleasant. Historians of the future may look back on these as the 'climate change years'. They will either look back on our generation as heroes or view us with incomprehension and disgust -- as now we look back on those who allowed slavery."

The British forum was keen to emphasize that the study was not meant to scare people but merely to try to prod them into taking global warming seriously. The very idea of polar cities for cliamte refugees in the South Pole region is tantamount to heresy, but it could happen.

In related news, when asked by this reporter about the possibility of so-called "polar cities" in the Antarctic region in the future, British scientist James Lovelock told RushPRnews in an email earlier this year from his home in Cornwall, England that "it may very well happen and soon!"

Lovelock also warned about the possibility of Britain becoming "Lifeboat Britain" in the future, where millions of climate refugees from Africa and Europe will settle as the world heats up.

In the British study, the forum group warned that this scenario could become a reality by the year 2030, imagining, among other things:

"....Refugees are moving to Antarctica, with the population set to reach 3.5 million people by 2040."

No mention of "polar cities," of course. It's not a term most people have heard about yet. But if you want to see what the future might look like for these climate refugees in Antarctica, look no further than here: http://www.polarcity.org

Be scared, be very scared. And then make plans to take action now to stop this climate change in its track, if we can! Do what you can, when you can, in whatever way you deem useful. There is no "how to" book on all this. But Madden's study is a good first step. Read it and weep -- for the future!

LINK TO FORUM REPORT

http://www.forumforthefuture.org/projects/climate-futures