Why i chose this topic and my struggles
I chose to write about Honduras' climate crisis because it is not a commonly talked about subject. We hear a lot about immigrants from Latin America, and the rampant crime and corruption, but not much about how global warming is affecting the region. I personally haven't heard anything in the news about the many adversities surrounding climate change and its effects in Honduras. Instead, the news is flooded with negative rhetoric about immigrants, but does not confront the reasons so many Hondurans must emigrate. Currently, there is a big focus on immigration in America, especially towards to Honduran immigrant caravan that traveled north to Mexico and the United States. There is a second caravan that is supposedly departing on January 15th. Most of the people in these caravans stop in Mexico, but these caravans and illegal immigration in general is one of the defining topics of American politics today. Researching this topic was eye opening to me; I knew that the situation in Honduras was bad, but I didn't realize the extent. Honduras is riddled with crime, murder, violence, and poverty. This put my life into perspective and the problems that I think are big are minuscule to those dealing with such imminent issues and adversity.
When I posed my research question about the extent climate change impacts poverty and migration north, I didn't expected the answer to be so complicated. There are so many different factors that affect poverty and migration like violence and civil rights. However, after I did a lot of research, I was able to clearly see the amount climate affects poverty. I did not realize how big a role that extreme weather and inconsistent climate patterns have on the economy in Honduras. It was not hard to find the research to back up my claim as it is a big issue currently, but I had a difficult time finding first hand accounts of the poverty and struggle.
When I posed my research question about the extent climate change impacts poverty and migration north, I didn't expected the answer to be so complicated. There are so many different factors that affect poverty and migration like violence and civil rights. However, after I did a lot of research, I was able to clearly see the amount climate affects poverty. I did not realize how big a role that extreme weather and inconsistent climate patterns have on the economy in Honduras. It was not hard to find the research to back up my claim as it is a big issue currently, but I had a difficult time finding first hand accounts of the poverty and struggle.
There is a new caravan that is reported to be departing from Honduras on January 15th. Migration continues to increase, but there haven't been any developments in solving the climate crisis. Although no big actions have been taken to counteract the poverty that comes with ecological devastation in Honduras, hopefully in the near future some short and long term solutions will be taken into effect.
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“That’s because of a lack of water,” 55-year-old Honduran farmer sighs. “It’s climate change that’s to blame.” |