Study: Climate Change Will Cause 22,000 Murders, 180,000 Rapes by 2099
From Ring of Fire:
A new study presents more evidence of the link between aggression and warmer temperatures. According to the study by economist Matthew Ranson, historic crime data and temperature data show that warmer weather leads to more murders, rapes, aggravated assaults, robberies, larceny, and theft.
Using crime and weather data dating back 30 years for 2,997 US counties, Ransons study finds that temperature has a strong positive effect on criminal behavior. According to the study, between 2010 and 2099, rising temperatures due to climate change will cause an additional 22,000 murders, 180, 000 rapes, 1.2 million aggravated assaults, 2.3 million simple assaults, 260,000 robberies, 2.2 million cases of larceny, and 580,000 cases of vehicle theft in the United States.
Though controversial, Ransons study is not the first to link climate change to increased aggression and violence. In August, researchers at UV Berkeley released a study in the peer-review journal Science, drawing a link between increased rates of violent crime and a warming climate.
You can read the full article here at Ring of Fire.