Climate change is a challenge facing humanity. Mitigation efforts are not being effective at the expected rate for lack of global commitment, coordination, and the complexity of the problem. The conflict between meeting the needs of the ever-growing population and implementing mitigations has changed the challenge into a political issue. Support is solicited in favor or against the acceptance and mitigation of climate change. Countries are forced to talk about climate change and protect their economies. Urbanization, deforestation, wetland drainage, and overgrazing change the landscape in favor of surface warming. The Sahel region of North Africa is a living example where the Sahara/aridity is moving south into the Nile basin water sources following land degradation. Climate change in the Nile basin will further stress the water resources for the fast-growing population which will exceed one billion by 2050. The impact of population growth and landscape change on surface temperature change is not given attention as greenhouse emissions. Climate change modeling results show certainty in temperature rise but uncertainty in change in rainfall and stream flows in the Nile basin.