No one has really said it yet, but, you know it is coming, namely, that the Egyptian riots have their foundation in climate change. Stick with me for a moment
The latest unrest in Egypt is blamed in part on rising wheat prices, which have squeezed poor Egyptian households. Forty per cent of Egypt’s population survives on less than $2 a day.
Although once considered the breadbasket of the Roman Empire, today Egypt is the world’s biggest wheat importer. It uses a combination of surpluses as well as subsidies to keep prices under control for its 80 million strong population, many of whom survive on a diet dominated by the flat, round bread known as baladi.
Rising wheat prices, eh?
A recent report on climate change sees crop prices rising over the next 40 years as the globe heats up, according to an article published in the January issue of Food Nutrition & Science. Using computer modeling, researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) assessed the harmful impact of climate change on food security through 2050.
According to the report, climate change will cause lower rice yields all over the world in 2050. Overall, the report finds that between now and 2050, food prices could rise by 42 to 131% for maize, 17 to 67% for wheat, and 11 to 78% for rice, depending on the scenario.
We’ve already been told that a spike in global food prices contributed to the Tunisian riots, and the Algerian riots, and we know that the world is one poor harvest away from chaos. This is all caused by the “extreme weather” due to globull warming, so, we can blame what is going in the Arab world on ……. climate change! Because someone drove a Suburban to soccer practice. See? It’s so easy!
