Allison Burbach (11/27): Climate Change in Russia

For my HONR 490 class this semester, I chose to write my research paper on climate change in Russia. I was inspired by a scary New York Times article by Abrahm titled “How Russia Wins the Climate Crisis.” Essentially, Russia may be on the cusp of a revolution with the opening of northern lands for agriculture and northern shipping lanes for global trade. This is a scary prospect for the Western world, especially with the current state of Russia's political affairs. The argument of my paper presents the multitude of political, economic, and social reasons that Russia actually will not “win” climate change. While reasons like infrastructure, soil fertility, and xenophobia are all tangible reasons, I think it really boils down to habitat and habitus. The shifts climate change presents are a dramatic change to the habitat. Then, you add complications of changing the very way people dwell. This might open up opportunities for some who can adapt to a different lifestyle, but for many, it may be too much. For example, farming formerly permafrost soils is vastly different from traditional farming. In addition, the flora and fauna are likely to change in regions long occupied by northern communities. In southern regions of Russia, extreme heat and drought will force Russians to move northward in search of more hospitable habitats. The habitus of everyone stands to be uprooted in the face of climate change, so Russia must face this reality in order to “win” climate change.