Climate Change Threatens Nomadic Mongolians Way Of Life

And by “climate change,” I mean “cold a** weather”

They call it the zud, a prolonged period of heavy snows and paralysing cold that adds to the challenges of living on a treeless expanse nearly the size of Alaska. Mongolia and its 800,000 herders are reeling from the worst winter that anyone can remember. According to United Nations relief officials, nearly eight million cows, yaks, camels, horses, goats and sheep died, about 17% of the country’s livestock. Even if the spring rains arrive soon, 500,000 more animals are expected to succumb.

“This is not only a catastrophe for the herders but for the entire Mongolian economy,” said Akbar Usmani, of the United Nations Development Programme. “We expect the ripple effects for months and years to come.”

You do know what is to blame for the cold winters, right?

The disaster poses a challenge to a government already struggling to address the needs of the third of the population that lives in poverty. But it also raises questions about climate change, environmental degradation and whether the pastoral way of life that sustains many of the country’s three million people has a future. Although mining and tourism are a growing portion of the Mongolian economy, a third of the population still depends entirely on husbandry for its livelihood. “The key question we have to ask is whether this way of life is sustainable,” said the UN’s Usmani. “It’s a very sensitive issue.”

And, again, this is why the whole movement is akin to a dangerous hokey religion (think Jim Jones, Church Of All Worlds, or the Church of Euthanasia): everything proves the theory that any climatic change is caused by Mankind’s release of greenhouse gasses.

Meanwhile, Honey Bees have been having some serious problems the past few years because of cold a**ed weather. I bet you are to blame for your resistence to trading in your sensible SUV and getting a micro-mobile, or leaving for work at 4am on your bike.

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