This summer’s record-smashing heat wave in the Washington area and across the country has rekindled the debate over climate change. Although scientists caution against directly linking global warming with extreme weather events such as the Colorado wildfires and Texas drought this summer, they say climate change is clearly making such events far more frequent, likely and intense.
Yet in the United States, especially during an election year, the debate over climate change remains stifled by skepticism, with many Americans discounting that the phenomenon exists despite the preponderance of scientific evidence.
Around the world, however, that debate has become moot, as nations not only acknowledge the existence of climate change, but brace for the pending storm. So this month, The Washington Diplomat travels the globe to present a special series on how countries such as Bangladesh and Ecuador are trying to turn the climate tide.
Bangladesh: Bracing for the Deluge As Ground Zero of Climate Change
Bangladesh, called the “ground zero” of global warming, has been bracing for the effects of climate change for years. Read More
Eco-Ingenuity: World Pays Ecuador to Forgo Oil Profits
Former Ecuadorian Ambassador Ivonne Baki part of one of the most daring schemes in the history of the environmental movement: The international community is literally paying the Ecuadorian government not to drill on its land. It’s essentially a bribe — but a noble one. Read More
Small Island Nations: Warn of Climate-Triggered Extinction
For small island states such as Fiji and the Bahamas, climate change is not just an academic debate. It’s an encroaching threat to their very existence. Read More
Central America: Weather Patterns Spell Grim Forecast
Central America has generated headlines for the surge in violence recently, but thousands have also lost their lives and been displaced because of another phenomenon: the weather. Read More
About the Author
Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.