| “We don’t have to wait...to see the impact of climate change...it’s happening right now if you are a poor farmer in Africa. It’s a double injustice that those least responsible are suffering the most. We in the West, fed on a diet of carbon consumption, have a duty to right this wrong before the fragile development gains that Africa has made are reversed” |
| — Bono, Activist |
Since the success of Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth,” the world is finally waking up to the urgency for action to reduce the impact of climate change. No one needs this action more than those people living in the developing world.
Poor countries bear the greatest impact of climate change. Longer dry seasons and uncertain rainfalls result in poor crops. Extreme weather patterns, including drought and flooding, impose hardships on any community. When these forces strike the poorest people in the world, the impact is more pronounced. Lack of resources to help manage the crisis prolongs problems until they become chronic. Bishop Desmond Tutu calls this “adaptation apartheid”—a world in which the rich can adapt to climate change, with the poor left behind to struggle under the burden of harsh environmental changes.
On June 5, World Environment Day gives us time to reflect on the importance of harmony in our global ecosystem. This year’s theme is “Kick the CO2 Habit.” The latest UN Human Development Report shows that Canadians need to take this message to heart.
Canadians are the world’s second highest emitters of Green House Gases (GHGs) per person, only slightly below the output of Americans. What is especially dramatic is how much we have increased our average output of GHGs between 1990 and 2004. While Americans saw a slight increase in emissions per person over that 14-year period, and UK citizens made a slight decrease, GHG emissions by Canadians rose by 33 per cent. We Canadians need to start kicking our CO2 habit!
Click here to learn more about World Environment Day. Visit the “About WED 2008” page, then link to the WED Alphabet for 80 creative ways to celebrate this special day.
Click here to view a popular YouTube video that shows two options on Climate Change that the world faces, then suggests which is the safer bet.
Click here to see the latest UN Human Development Report featuring Climate Change as a central theme.
