Time to envision legal recourse for climate refugees

As gradually worsening climate patterns and severe weather events prompt an increase in human mobility, people who choose to move will do so with little legal protection. The current system of international law is not equipped to protect climate migrants, as there are no legally binding agreements obliging countries to support climate migrants.

While climate migrants who flee unbearable conditions resemble refugees, the legal protections afforded to refugees do not extend to them. ln the aftermath of World War li, the United Nations established a system to protect civilians who had been forced from their home countries by political violence. Today, there are almost 20.4 million officially designated refugees under the protection of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), but there is an additional group of 21.5 million people who flee their homes as a result of sudden onset weather hazards every year.

The UNHCR has refused to grant these people refugee status, instead designating them as "environmental migrants," in large part because it lacks the resources to address their needs. But with no organized effort to supervise the migrant population, these desperate individuais go where they can, not necessarily where they should. As their numbers grow, it will become increasingly difficult for the international community to ignore this challenge. As · severe climate change displaces more people, the international community may be forced to either redefine "refugees" to include climate migrants or create a new legal category and accompanying institutional framework to protect climate migrants. However, opening that debate in the current context would be very difficult. Currently, the atmosphere in Europe and the U.S. would most likely lead to limiting refugee protections rather than expanding them.

(Adapted from https://www.brookings.edu)

U.K. hospitais are overburdened. But the British leve their universal health care

March 7, 2018

When Erich McElroy takes the stage at comedy clubs in London, his routine includes a joke about the first time he went to see a doctor in Britain.

Originally from Seattle, McElroy, 45, has lived in London for almost 20 years. A stand-up comedian, he's made a career out of poking fun at the differences in the ways Americans versus Britons see the world - and one of the biggest differences is their outlook on health care. "I saw a doctor, who gave me a couple pills and sent me on my way. But I still hadn't really done any paperwork. ' was like, 'This isn't right!' " McElroy says onstage, to giggles from the crowd. "So I went back to the sarne woman, and I said, 'What do I do now?' And she said, 'You go home!'

" The mostly British audience erupts into laughter.

McElroy acknowledges it doesn't sound like much of a joke. He's just recounting his first experience ata U.K. public hospital. But Britons find it hilarious, he says, that an American would be searching for a cash register, trying to find how to pay for treatment at a doctor's office or hospital. lt is a foreign concept here, McElroy explains.

Onstage, McElroy recounts how, when the hospital receptionist instructed him to go home, he turned to her and exclaimed, "This is amazing! "

Amazing, he says, because he did not have to pay - at least not at the point of service. ln Britain, there is a state-funded system called the National Health Service, or NHS, which guarantees care for all. That means everything from ambulance rides and emergency roem visits to long hospital stays, complex surgery, radiation and chemotherapy - are all free. They are paid for with payroll taxes. ln addition, any medication you get during a hospital visit is free, and the cost of most prescription drugs at a pharmacy are cheap - a few dollars. (Private health care also exists in the U.K., paid out-of-pocket or through private insurance coverage, but only a small minority of residents opt for it.)

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the U.K., like many countries, has been taking in less tax revenue - so it has had to cut spending. lts expenditure on the National Health Service has still grown, but at a slower pace than before. [ ... ] Wait times at the emergency roem are up, says Richard Murray, policy director at the King's Fund, a health care think tank.

" lf the ER is really busy, it makes the ambulances queue outside the front doer - not great," Murray says. "And in some cases, the hospital is simply full."

(Adapted from https://www.npr.org)

U.K. hospitais are overburdened. But the British leve their universal health care

March 7, 2018

When Erich McElroy takes the stage at comedy clubs in London, his routine includes a joke about the first time he went to see a doctor in Britain.

Originally from Seattle, McElroy, 45, has lived in London for almost 20 years. A stand-up comedian, he's made a career out of poking fun at the differences in the ways Americans versus Britons see the world - and one of the biggest differences is their outlook on health care. "I saw a doctor, who gave me a couple pills and sent me on my way. But I still hadn't really done any paperwork. ' was like, 'This isn't right!' " McElroy says onstage, to giggles from the crowd. "So I went back to the sarne woman, and I said, 'What do I do now?' And she said, 'You go home!'

" The mostly British audience erupts into laughter.

McElroy acknowledges it doesn't sound like much of a joke. He's just recounting his first experience ata U.K. public hospital. But Britons find it hilarious, he says, that an American would be searching for a cash register, trying to find how to pay for treatment at a doctor's office or hospital. lt is a foreign concept here, McElroy explains.

Onstage, McElroy recounts how, when the hospital receptionist instructed him to go home, he turned to her and exclaimed, "This is amazing! "

Amazing, he says, because he did not have to pay - at least not at the point of service. ln Britain, there is a state-funded system called the National Health Service, or NHS, which guarantees care for all. That means everything from ambulance rides and emergency roem visits to long hospital stays, complex surgery, radiation and chemotherapy - are all free. They are paid for with payroll taxes. ln addition, any medication you get during a hospital visit is free, and the cost of most prescription drugs at a pharmacy are cheap - a few dollars. (Private health care also exists in the U.K., paid out-of-pocket or through private insurance coverage, but only a small minority of residents opt for it.)

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the U.K., like many countries, has been taking in less tax revenue - so it has had to cut spending. lts expenditure on the National Health Service has still grown, but at a slower pace than before. [ ... ] Wait times at the emergency roem are up, says Richard Murray, policy director at the King's Fund, a health care think tank.

" lf the ER is really busy, it makes the ambulances queue outside the front doer - not great," Murray says. "And in some cases, the hospital is simply full."

(Adapted from https://www.npr.org)

Dedicated to helping his community

December 2020

When the country went into coronavirus lockdown this year, one Royal Navy sailor sprang into action to protect his local community with all the dedication and efficiency of a military operation.

Chief Petty Officer Sean Mackenzie has served in the Royal Navy for 29 years and works at Royal Navy Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall. So when people in his village of Tregony faced the uncertainty of lockdown in March, CPO Mackenzie knew exactly what to do.

ln the navy, he specialises in logistics at 1700 Naval Air Squadron, which deploys teams of sailors around the world to allow flying operations on navy warships, support ships and air bases. He also supervises a team of 70 personnel at Culdrose's extensive supply chain depot.

"From the first day of lockdown, 1 got together with a couple of former military men and we created our own group," he said. "We did rounds of the village and we deliberately made it as military as we could. 1 wanted to help my community and these people in it are all part of that together."

His team of volunteers, which grew to 27 people, immediately set up a 'smiley-face system' where anyone, many of them elderly, could indicate with a simple sign in their window if they needed help or not.

Regular smiley-face patrols were soon underway every day in the village of around 450 households. This was followed by a 'buddy system', where socially-isolated people could receive a visit and talk to someone - for many it could be their only contact all day, [ ... ] from a safe distance outside.

The team also prepared an emergency kitchen [ ... ], established their own foodbank and updated noticeboards with the latest advice.

They bought food for those who could not get out, including up to 20 visits a day to the local shop. Soon, dogwalking and pizza-delivery services followed as well as a medicine delivery service, which collected more than 2,000 prescriptions over lockdown, which were then personally handed out to each patient.

AII of this was on top of Chief Petty Officer Mackenzie's responsibilities at work, where he continued as a key-worker, helping to ensure that the Royal Navy could still meet its key defence requirements.

"I was really aware that everyone needed help and 1 was capable of helping. 1 was also aware that my own parents were sat in a similar situation, but 300 miles away. Here I could do something to help my community."

He has now been singled out for an award by the commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, Captain Stuart Finn, who said: "Chief Petty Officer Mackenzie has displayed exemplary leadership skills, both in his professional capacity with the Royal Navy and a selfless approach to service in his local community."

(Adapted from "Dedicated to helping his community". Naval News, p. 39, December 2020. & https://www.cornwalllive.com)