Climate change is about people
Published on Thursday, October 15, 2009 – 11:40 pm
As part of this year’s Blog Action Day focusing on climate change, I have Simon Owens from CARE come to talk to you about the effects of climate change and what you can do to help. I’ll pass you onto Simon now…
Climate change is not only about melting ice caps and polar bears. Climate change is about people.
Swinging weather patterns are creating disasters on a scale that human civilization has never before witnessed. For the world’s poorest people – the ones least equipped to deal with its effects – climate change is devastating their crops, livelihoods and communities.
“Climate change is worsening the plight of those hundreds of millions of men, women and children who already live in extreme poverty – and it threatens to push hundreds of millions more people into similar destitution,”
says CARE International’s Secretary General Robert Glasser.
“A concerted international response to this unprecedented challenge is required if we are to avoid catastrophic human suffering.”
CARE is working toward a world where poor people can create opportunity out of crises like climate change. But the current reality is that climate change makes poor people even more vulnerable.
For instance, agricultural production will likely decline in the poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Less reliable rainfall will likely affect planting seasons, crop growth and livestock health – and lead to increased malnutrition. In other parts of the developing world, flooding will likely further diminish the quality of already-marginal soil and could cause outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
Climate change also is hurling many poor families into “Catch-22” situations. For example, they may select crops that are less sensitive to rainfall variation, but also less profitable. As incomes decline and people are not able to eke out a living, children are forced to leave school, assets are sold off to afford essentials, malnutrition rates increase and large-scale migration ensues. The end result? Deepening poverty for tens of millions of people around the world.
What Must Be Done?
At the international level, negotiations to develop a new treaty to guide global efforts to address climate change will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in just a couple weeks. The United States must help lead those efforts, and forge a strong agreement that caps emissions, stops global warming and responds to the effects already in motion. We must do this for the sake of all of humanity.
What can you do to help?
First, you can make a tax-deductible donation to CARE to help poor families access the tools and education they need to adapt to the effects of climate change, make efficient use of their existing resources and overcome poverty for good.
Second, if you live in the Unites States, you can write your senators and urge them to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a critical step toward U.S. leadership in tackling climate change. U.S. leadership is critical to making the Copenhagen negotiations a success.
Third, you can join the CARE mailing list to be kept up to date on CARE’s activities and other ways you can take action in the days counting down to Copenhagen.
To donate, take action and join our e-mail list, please visit http://www.care.org/climate.
Thank you once again Simon. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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11 Responses
to “Climate change is about people”
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- Oct 16, 2009: Designers’ View on Climate Change | Creative Repository
Gregg Peppin on Oct 17, 2009 said:
Stick to the proven science of graphic design and avoid the politically correct global warming nonsense. This clap-trap doesn’t belong on a blog dedicated to furthering the graphic design industry.
Elizabeth on Oct 17, 2009 said:
I believe its part of all of us, and no matter what other people say, everyone has to take care of the planet to save ourselves. It’s not only me, it’s about every human person. And I put Guatemala as an example, because tomatoes are burning, the price is too high because there are no rains, and that’s not just tomatoe. People who work on the crop fields are scared because they won’t have anything to sell. Now in the city, politics are planning a law, and are going to educate people so they don’t contaminate more than they already do. That’s where it concerns to us graphic designers…
Pam on Oct 17, 2009 said:
It’s not only about us having work, lol.. It’s also about us designers not wasting materials, and using recycled stuff. We can stop printing things that are not useful, and use both sides of the paper when printing. We can help, and if we change, Everybody will change!
Nathalie on Oct 17, 2009 said:
….and it is our responsability, as graphic designers, to educate through our works what poeple should be aware of and take their part of responsability in order to make a change.
The future of our planet doesn’t look that bright.
BebopDesigner (@BebopDesigner) on Oct 17, 2009 said:
Brilliant post! I had no idea about BAD09 until I read it on one of your articles. For that I’m really really thankful.
Cheers
Bruno on Oct 19, 2009 said:
Great post, it’s good to hear that the ball is rolling in the right direction. It is up to all graphic designers to go greener and aid to our planets needs. But we must also keep ethics in mind and choose clients carefully because what we do is linked directly to consumerism which in turn is one of the main causes of global warming.
Jacob Cass (@justcreative) on Oct 21, 2009 said:
Gregg,
Although I don’t want to go on like some crazy activist, I believe the Blog Action Day movement is one for the greater good, which is why I chose to participate. Don’t worry, the posts on graphic design will keep on coming.
Pam, Bruno, Nathalie,
Have you heard about FSC? It’s a system in place to ensure sustainable resources are used for paper.
ljpaintbox on Oct 27, 2009 said:
Every human being has a responsibility to respond to this cause and I think its great that you are sharing a moment of your time to share a different topic. Thanks Jacob and Simon.
NiceArtLife (@NiceArtLife) on Nov 2, 2009 said:
Interesting article, thanks for publishing it, don’t mind the people who don’t agree that you publish it here on your website. Nice reading you.
Derek Kimball (@derekkimball) on Nov 8, 2009 said:
Sorry for not jumping on the “Global Warming is man made” bandwagon, but I’m pretty convinced that the ultimate goal of the movement is to condition people into accepting a global tax. You can read all about the agenda in Obama’s 2008 “Global Poverty Act” and the more recent Global Warming Bill proposal.
I’m all for saving the planet, but I think an equally convincing argument could just as well be made about global cooling in recent years. Just proof that temperature change is nothing more than natural cycle.
Just my opinion