Fair Trade Helps

Is a changing climate killing 300,000 people a year?

June 2, 2009 at 10:33 am lucumadesigns 2 comments

A new report from the Global Humanitarian Forum says that climate change is killing 300,000 people a year now and that number will rise to over 500,000 a year within 20 years. Nearly all of these invisible victims live in developing countries.  In fact, the reports authors indicate that 325 million people are suffering right now and that number will rise to an estimated 660 million within 20 years.

In line with our belief that Fair Trade can help people and the planet, the authors of the report want to ramp up efforts to help people in developing countries adapt to their changing climate. Unlike Americans they can’t hop in an SUV and drive away from an approaching hurricane. Besides, only 10% of the people killed are due to extreme weather.  Rather it’s the ongoing effects of droughts and failed crops that lead to malnutrition and disease.

Read the report and form your own opinion.

Fair Trade can help people have the resources to adapt! It won’t solve all the problems, but the ability to earn a better living and have extra cash can make it much easier for a family to survive crop failures or save money to dig a better well.

And meanwhile we must ask ourselves how to save energy, shop responsibly and demand justice for those less fortunate than us.

Thanks to our good friends at Biotica EcoTours for alerting us to this report.

Entry filed under: Fair Trade Helps People. Tags: climate change, global warming.