Winners and losers in global warming

Rising sea level is already threatening the poor nation of Bangladesh, where millions may be displaced as the water table becomes contaminated with salt and unusable for drinking or agriculture. Some will profit, though, in those industries that find an advantage in the changing landscape.

A small minority reaps the profits of change

Salinization could have enormous consequences for Bangladesh's food supply. Whereas Bangladesh's southwest was once the country's breadbasket helping to feed the nation, now the region's bounties are all exported in the form of shrimp. And the money earned ends up in the pockets of only a few people who now have to pay fewer workers. Many observers see this as a dangerous development. "Climate change means that the poor get poorer and food supplies become more limited," says climate researcher Atiq Rahman from the capital Dhaka.