Turkey is facing a danger even greater than its strained relations with Russia, the continuing unrest in the southeast, the civil wars in Syria and Iraq, and those who compare President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Lord of the Rings character Smeagol.
That danger is climate change. Although human-induced shifts in weather patterns will affect every part of the globe for the coming decades, Turkey is at a particular disadvantage. Misguided energy policies, along with the misuse of freshwater resources, could turn vast swaths of the country into a desert while creating new international headaches for Turkish leaders.