Just Creative Design

Climate change is about people

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.

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

It’s that time of year again - October 15th is Blog Action Day.

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. One day. One issue. Thousands of voices.

This year the topic is Climate Change (of which I voted for back in August) and am glad it was picked as this years topic of choice as Climate Change is effecting us all (and our children) whether we like it or not.

I don’t want to bat on like some Greenpeace activist but Blog Action Day is for a good cause and you should consider getting involved - at least check out the video below.

Only last year did this blog raise USD$1620 in funds for the Blog Action Day Poverty Fund so it shows that you can help.

What can you do now?

Blog and Twitter about it, let others know about Blog Action Day and line up a story to be posted on October 15th too. Register your blog and get more information by going to the official Blog Action Day website.

You could also add a banner to the side of your blog such as the one you see on the right side bar of Just Creative Design.

I Will Donate 10 Cents For Every Comment That Is Left On This Post To Help Rid The World Of Poverty

Tomorrow is Blog Action Day - the initiative to help rid the world of poverty. I am doing my bit by leaving it up to you guys to decide how much I will donate.

I will allow comments for a 24 hour period starting from the time of this post. The maximum I will donate is AUD$150 which hopefully won’t be too hard to get considering the subscriber count on this blog.

Leave a comment saying “I’m helping to rid the world of poverty”.

Update: After 24 hours I have closed the comments, in total there were 242 comments below and 5 on FaceBook making it $24.70 that I have donated to The Global Fund - Thank You to all who commented.

I have dedicated the donations to all JCD commenters as seen in the picture below. You can view my Change.Org profile here to see proof of donation (top right corner) - it seems to have rounded down to $24 but $24.70 was donated. Thanks once again.

Blog Action Day: Stand Up To Poverty, October 15th

October 15th is Blog Action Day 2008. Get involved.

What is Blog Action Day?

“Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. The aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.” - This year the discussion is poverty.

In layman’s words… the goal of Blog Action Day is to get as many bloggers as possible writing about the same issue on the same day and to do it in a unique way that is associated with their own blog.

You can read more about Blog Action Day here.

Why?

To raise the awareness about poverty and make people talk, think and act about it.

Did you know half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day?

There are even more frightening facts than that.

What Can Just One Person Do?

• Advocate
• Work
• Give
• Inform

More details are available on the Blog Action website .

What to do now?

Blog about it now, let others know about Blog Action Day and line up a story to be posted on October 15th too. Register your blog and get more information by going to the official Blog Action Day website.