Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is blaming climate change for contributing to excessively severe floods in Brazil, which have claimed 39 lives and have left 267,000 people homeless.  While pinpointing exactly how much climate change influenced the devastating impact, climate scientists have cautioned that increased flooding is to be expected as the planet warms.  The area that has been flooded stretches from the Amazon river to normally dry sections of northeastern Brazil, which is roughly the size of three Alaskas.  As we know from other disasters, the threat of flooding often increases after the water begins to slowly recede, as people struggle to regain access to food, clean water, and medical attention.

And while this is the worst flooding in over twenty years, southern portions of the country continue to suffer through a drought, another indication that climate change is already taking it’s toll.  The drought has placed Brazils coffee production in peril and scientists are already working to mitigate the effects of climate change, and I imagine the floods will give them even more motivation.  Although I would rather see them looking for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, then develop drought-resistant genetically modified crops.  We need to seek solutions that reduce the threat of climate change, and applying environmentally foolish band-aids won’t solve the problem.

Photo: emarquetti’s flickr photostream (creative commons)