Blog Action Day : Learning to live with climate change
15. Oct, 2009 
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If we think the weather patterns are weird now, we ain’t seen nothing yet. At least that’s what the experts are saying. An article by David Adam in The Guardian, says that scientists believe the effects of climate change will be felt sooner than they had anticipated. Instead of trying to reverse the effects of global warming, we are told that it’s now time to start preparing to adapt. Scary.
A climate scientist with the Met Office, Martin Parry, said that we can anticipate destructive changes in temperature, rainfall and agriculture to happen several decades earlier than was first thought. Reduced crop yields and water shortages are now inevitable .
This isn’t great news for countries already suffering from drought and food shortages. All Africa.com states that the next 40 years will see the number of mal-nourished children increase to 52 million.
A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warns that, along with the Arctic and Africa, small islands such as Fiji and Asian river megadeltas, including the Mekong, will bear the brunt of the impact of climate change. India’s wheat production is already in decline and there are signs of a similar agricultural shift in China.
What can we in North America do? Professor Parry, who is co-chairman of IPCC, says that we need to focus on helping developing countries cope with the predicted water and food shortages by teaching them about irrigation and water management technology, drought resistant crops and new building techniques.
In our own backyards, we can continue to do what we’ve been doing, by planting more trees to increase shading and using rain barrels to save rain water for use in the garden. A reasearch project led by the University of the West of England, will look at how suburban neighborhoods can adapt to climate change. They will look at the possibility of installing pond and rain water systems that will enable people to re-use rainwater indoors and out. They will also consider what roofs can stand up to high winds and flooding.
Grey water is non-industrial waste water generated from dish washing, laundry and bathing. It typically makes up 50-80% of residential waste water. Systems can be installed that recycles this water for use in home gardens and in commercial irrigation. That might be something to consider in future renovation plans.
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We can also throw money at the problem. Donate at the United Nations Foundation and help the UN solve global problems. You can also: “Tell us what you’ll miss most, and help show our world leaders just how much we need a global climate change agreement.”
You can also donate to The Alliance for Climate Protection of which Al Gore is Chairman, and/or Oxfam International, which is an organization working directly with poor communities. They seek to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them. A worthy cause indeed.
Check out Blog Action Day for more ways to help.
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