Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Big Ask
The human cost of climate-related disasters is probably less talked about than melting ice caps or global warming. But people are struggling to cope with the effects of climate change and the impact is here and now. 70% of disasters are now weather related. Weather is more extreme, disasters more frequent and storms more violent. The cost of responding to disasters has doubled in the last decade putting a huge strain on existing resources and capacities. The smart thing to do is to shift the focus onto good preparedness. To take action before disasters rather than wait for the inevitable before acting. People who live in risk-prone areas and without the means to withstand a disaster are the hardest hit. Poor people - especially women, children, elderly, ill and handicapped - make up the highest proportion of victims. The humanitarian consequences of climate change is not a future scenario. This blog will frequently return to this issue, bringing in issues directly and indirectly related such as climate and health, climate and food security, and climate and migration. I will also link to some of the many excellent awareness-raising tools out there - one of my favourites I embed in this blog. A viral video from Friends of the Earth from late last year, called the Big Ask. Big? Massive more like.