The Needs of A Growing Population

Today marks the day when world population reaches its 7 billion milestone.  Are we to celebrate or should we be concerned?  Things have certainly changed since 1999 when world population reached 6 billion.  It was a time when we believed that we could eradicate severe poverty and hunger as well as act in time to avert the worst effects of climate change.  With high confidence, we knew nothing could stop us.  Well things haven’t exactly worked out that way.  Facing a decade of economic distress and lacking progression in our efforts to eliminate global poverty, are we capable of meeting everyone’s needs?  Only time will tell.

It was predicted that fertility rates would continue to fall and population was anticipated to continue to drop.  Now, reaching the 7 billion mark, U.N.’s latest projects indicate that population will reach 10 billion by 2082 and will in fact continue to grow.  Contributing factors such as inability to access contraceptives in developing countries, gender inequality, and child marriage further induces the increase in fertility rates.  By implementing cost effective strategies in developing nations, fertility rates will be reduced and the health and welfare of the impoverished will be improved.

Another challenge arises; will we be able to produce enough food for the predicted population growth?  Enduring two major food crises, shrinkage in food stock and the impact of climate change on our natural resources, has magnified the concern regarding future food production.  Unfortunately, those living in severe poverty will be the most affected.  It is essential that we address the world’s poor first, get to the root of the problem. 

To ensure that population growth doesn’t exceed our Earth’s capacity, focusing our efforts on eradicating hunger, reducing severe poverty, and addressing climate change is vital.  Progression needs to take place or else we are doomed for dire consequences. 

-Georisa Chang

Source: Chicago Tribune

The Poor and Forests: Western Aid Required

Developing countries may turn to cutting down their forests if the West will not provide more aid and funding. Guyana's president, Bharrat Jagdeo, spoke on Friday about the need for greater funding in order to continue the conservation of forests.

For the poor in these countries, cutting down the forests can generate income through timber, as well as freeing up land that can be used for cash crop production. Thus, in order to preserve the protection of the forests, Guyana's president believes it is imperative for the West to make up for the income the people are losing.

Maintaining large forests is crucial to managing climate change. Additionally, there are millions of people living in poverty in the regions with massive forests, such as the Amazon, Congo and Borneo-Mekong basins. The Amazon basin alone is home to roughly 300 million people. Trees are effective at reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by absorbing the carbon and releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere. They are the second largest reservoir of carbon in the world and one that humans can control.

Increasing funding to countries in these regions is important in order to maintain a buffer against the effects of climate change. It is in the interest of the United States and the world to prevent the destruction of these forests by providing aid to the individuals who live in these areas. We cannot expect the people living in these forests to starve in order to maintain the preservation of the trees.

- Michael Kan

SOURCE: AlertNet

Millions of Poor Threatened by Climate Change

A study released on Friday revealed that millions of poor are at risk of losing their homes due to climate change. The report claimed that by 2050, many areas of Africa and South Asia may become inhospitable due to rising temperatures and greater risk of drought.

The main concern with climate change is that rising temperatures may make growing crops increasingly difficult, if not impossible. Staples such as rice, corn and wheat do not grow as well when the temperature rises above 30 degrees Celsius ( 86 degrees Fahrenheit ), and this has a serious impact when millions are already struggling to feed themselves.

The report, produced by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) program, suggested that countries need to supply farmers with drought or flood resistant crops and may also need to invest in mass migration. The countries most at risk were those with shorter growing seasons, growing populations, and entrenched poverty.

It is important for the United States to act quickly in terms of increasing poverty-related funding. If we do not act now, the conditions of millions of people already living in poverty will only worsen. By supplying aid to countries in need, the U.S. will also be serving its own interests - strengthening the infrastructure of the countries in question can alleviate the pressures of climate change and prevent large-scale migration of people to other countries, such as the U.S. Call your local congressional leader and tell them that you would like to see them support poverty focused-aid.

- Michael Kan

SOURCE: AlertNet

Global Warming Affects Crop Yields and Food Prices

A new study suggests that global warming may be causing a decrease in potential crop yields in many countries and may be a factor in increasing food prices globally. Wheat yields are down by more than 10 percents in Russia as well as a few percentage points in India, France and China due to an increase in global temperatures.

The study found that most of Europe and large parts of Asia, Africa and South America, have been effected by temperatures during growing seasons, which have warmed by an average of several degrees since 1980. The United States on the other hand seems to be getting a pass as the Midwestern corn and soybean belt which has not witnessed only minor temperature changes.

Plants are known to be sensitive to high temperatures, especially when they are in the flowering stage. Wheat, corn, soybeans and rice are the major sources of calories for the human race, either directly or via meat from animals raised on grains. Demand for these products is inflexible and rising, but as climate change affects the crops produced, the price increases.

The losses from climate change are said to have accounted for price increases of 6 percent in each of the above categories. The calculations imply that climate change is costing food companies about $60 billion a year, not to mention the amount of people who go hungry because they cannot afford food due to a price influx. The prices of many foodstuffs have doubled or tripled recently, causing rising food demands in Asia and other developing areas.

-Gabrielle Gurian

SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES