Climate Change and Global Shipping
The article discusses how climate change is affecting global shipping and trade, particularly in two regions that are of interest to the US government: Greenland and the Panama Canal.
- Greenland: Rising temperatures have led to significant ice melt, making the area more accessible for oil and gas drilling and mineral mining. This has attracted international interest, but also raises concerns about environmental harm.
- Panama Canal: Climate change is causing droughts and rising sea levels, threatening the canal’s lock system and freshwater supply. The canal authority has proposed a $1.6 billion project to secure freshwater.
The article also mentions that China and Russia are working together to develop Arctic shipping routes, and that the US government is paying more attention to climate change’s impact on global shipping.
Trump’s Interests
The article notes that Donald Trump wants to acquire Greenland and reclaim control of the Panama Canal, citing national security concerns. However, experts suggest that Trump’s interests are also driven by climate change, which is making both regions more important for global shipping and trade.
Climate Change Consequences
The article highlights the consequences of climate change, including rising sea levels, droughts, and increased risk of environmental disasters such as oil spills. It also mentions that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has promoted the use of toxic fertilizer, which has been linked to health problems.
Climate change is fucking us so hard Greenland melts. And the logical thought is to drill there for more oil. How amusing.
Panama is about controlling trade.
Realistically, do we believe he’ll make a serious attempt at taking control over these by force? Or is this just bluster? I’m starting to believe he may be legitimately intending to make a move for this territory, and frankly, I don’t think there are forces that would have the interest, or capability to oppose him. Too much of the global community has been browbeat into aligning with US interests. That for them to make a clean break, or even directly oppose the US is not a realistic expectation. I could easily see them folding to these sorts of demands, and that worries me.
Attacking allies is very much his style.
At this stage the US militarily attacking allies is more likely to kick start a civil war domestically.
They might have a shot in 10+ years, after MAGAzi’s have consolidated power and used the surveillance state to crush all wrongthink and dissent… I’m sure glad Liberals spent decades building big brother for fascism; handing them the keys to the kingdom.
Trump knows he likely doesn’t have ten years. That’s why his team is trying to get these in the news now - that way the idea isn’t quite so terrible when it does happen.
His daddy was 93 when he died. So trump could theoretically live like… 15 more years.
Oh I think he is going to do it. However I think him and the US military are underestimating the resistance that they will face. Because it’s not just Panama he is looking at it’s all of Latin America. Him and his Oligarchs know Climate Change is real, and they are planning for it.
He has nothing left to lose at this point, and he can do whatever he wants while in office now.
I think he’s serious, but whether he can be made to back down is too early to say. The full might of the U.S. Military vs all of Latin America? That would be…interesting. Assuming the military leaders would obey an order to invade an allied sovereign nation. Ooof.
The best way to blunt a volunteer army is to coerce it into doing something it doesn’t support.
For examples, see Afghanistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
I think they will “obey” but it will cost Trump an enormous amount of political capital. Any trouble at all in a war like that, any serious insurgency or international blowback, will have an outsized effect on public perception. Americans DO NOT like foreign wars, it’s weirdly part of what got trump elected, frustration with neo-liberal interventionism is an often overlooked element of his bases sense of grievance.
