This beautifully produced book by the 10 French journalists and photographers who make up the Collectif Argos contains 11 illustrated essays from around the world, including the Pacific coral islands of Tuvalu, where the islanders know that in 50 years their homelands will have vanished; the village of Longbaoshan, north of Beijing, which is slowly being enveloped by sand dunes, where rainfall is decreasing and “yellow dragons” (sandstorms) are becoming more common; and a report from New Orleans after Katrina caused possibly the largest displacement of population in America’s history.
“Rebuild New Orleans not Iraq”, says a handwritten sign outside a trailer in one of Cédric Faimali’s striking photographs. A powerful book about an important subject.
Climate Refugees
Collectif Argos
MIT Press, 2010
— By PD Smith
www.guardian.co.uk/
Copyright Guardian News and Media 2010