About Me
Action Corps Online
Search
Blog Archive
Get Involved
@oxfamactionnyc
Action Corps NYC Photos
Online
Action Corps Community
Oxfam en español
News
Friday, March 26, 2010 | 
Posted by
Oxfam Action Corps NYC |
CALLING COLLEGE STUDENTS: Are you ready to lead the CHANGE?
Bring Oxfam America and its campaigns to your campus!! Applications are due on April 1, 2010. CHANGE
Oxfam America is currently accepting applications for the CHANGE Initiative, their national student leadership program. CHANGE offers college students, at US based campuses, entering their sophomore or junior year the opportunity to become effective social change agents. CHANGE Leaders are exposed to the international development issues that inform Oxfam's work, and apply their skills and insights to run Oxfam campaigns on their campuses and in their communities.
Applications are due on April 1, 2010. Selected students are required to participate in a week long training in Boston, July 24-30, 2010, which is organized and paid for by Oxfam. Students must agree to join or form an Oxfam Club and implement an Oxfam campaign on campus during the 2010-11 academic year, as well as communicate regularly with Oxfam staff about their work.
Apply on line and watch our CHANGE video at: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/change. If you have any questions please call 1-800-77-OXFAM ext. 2464 or email CHANGE@oxfamamerica.org.
Bring Oxfam America and its campaigns to your campus!! Applications are due on April 1, 2010. CHANGE
Oxfam America is currently accepting applications for the CHANGE Initiative, their national student leadership program. CHANGE offers college students, at US based campuses, entering their sophomore or junior year the opportunity to become effective social change agents. CHANGE Leaders are exposed to the international development issues that inform Oxfam's work, and apply their skills and insights to run Oxfam campaigns on their campuses and in their communities.
Applications are due on April 1, 2010. Selected students are required to participate in a week long training in Boston, July 24-30, 2010, which is organized and paid for by Oxfam. Students must agree to join or form an Oxfam Club and implement an Oxfam campaign on campus during the 2010-11 academic year, as well as communicate regularly with Oxfam staff about their work.
Apply on line and watch our CHANGE video at: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/change. If you have any questions please call 1-800-77-OXFAM ext. 2464 or email CHANGE@oxfamamerica.org.
Senator Gillibrand Co-sponsors the International Climate Change Investment Act of 2009
Oxfam Action Corps NYC congratulates U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for co-sponsoring the International Climate Change Investment Act (S. 2835), introduced by Senator John Kerry. This bill helps hard-hit communities prepare for the severe impacts of climate change and promotes clean energy around the world.
Week of Advocacy
Tell your Senators: Don’t leave the poor out of the climate change bill!
Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are changing their approach to climate change legislation in an attempt to fashion a bill that can pass the Senate. The problem? There is pressure to cut out the international provisions, including help for the world’s poorest people to prepare for the severe effects of climate change.
Leaving support for hard-hit poor communities out of a US climate bill not only undermines the pledge America made in Copenhagen to help those most affected by climate change – it also leaves billions of people in peril from worsening storms, droughts, & floods.
This week is crucial for influencing legislation on climate change! Call your Senators this week, and get your friends and contacts to do the same. Read more to find a script!
WHAT WE WANT OUR SENATORS TO DO:
1. Make sure a comprehensive climate and energy bill helps the world’s poorest people currently being hit hardest by climate change.
AND
2. Co-sponsor the International Climate Change Investment Act (S. 2835), introduced by Senator John Kerry. This bill will deliver the right policies to help hard-hit communities prepare for the severe impacts of climate change and promotes clean energy around the world.
IT’S EASY TO CALL:
Step 1. Dial 1-(866)-220-0044 OR 1-(202) 224-3121 to reach the Capitol Switchboard
Step 2. Ask the operator for your Senator’s office
Step 3. Express your view. Be sure to say who you are, where you are from, what you want, and why you care. (Talking points to help you out are below.) Here is a sample:
Hi, My name is ____ and I am a (your occupation) from (city/state).
I would like to ask Senator ____ to vocally support a comprehensive climate and energy bill that assists the world’s poorest people currently being hit hardest by climate change, AND to cosponsor the Climate Change Investment Act (S. 2835). This bill, S. 2835, will deliver the right policies to help hard-hit communities prepare for the severe impacts of climate change, and it will promote clean energy around the world.
I care about this because _______________, and I follow reports from organizations like Oxfam about how climate change is harming people in poverty. We need the Senator’s support now. Thank you.
Step 4. Repeat steps 1-3 for your second Senator.
THAT’S IT. EASY RIGHT? NOW ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME!
Additional tips for calling Congress (thanks to our friends at Repower America for these)
1. Who You Are
2. Where You Are From
3. Why You Are Calling
4. Now is the time to act on Climate Change and International Adaptation Legislation.
Who You Are: Who you are is extremely important to Senators and their staff. One of the primary goals of this call-in is to demonstrate broad and diverse support for climate change legislation. As a result, it is very important that you tell Senate offices who you are. If you’re a veteran, tell them you’re a veteran. If you’re a small business person, let them know. Give them all the information they ask for and more. This part is essential so please remember to tell Senate offices who you are.
Where You’re From: This is also extremely important. Senators need to know that clean energy and climate advocates come from every corner of their state.
Why You’re Calling: Senators need to know why you care. Whether your motivation is the environment, national security or jobs and the economy or all of the above, it is essential to let
Senators know why you care. (See talking points below for facts.)
Urgency: NOW is the time to ensure a comprehensive climate and energy bill helps the world’s poorest people currently being hit hardest by climate change. If the Senate does not act this year – especially in the next few months, the clock will run out on this Congressional session and it could be a very long time until they take up this issue again.
TALKING POINTS – FROM OXFAM AMERICA
1. International adaptation is a moral imperative and demonstrates US leadership
• The 4th IPCC report depicts a pending human crisis – by 2020, 250 million people will experience water scarcity, and by 2050 more than a billion people will face water shortages and hunger due to climate variability. The World Health Organization estimates that climate likely contributes to upwards of 150,000 deaths per year.
• The impacts of climate change around the world – from to floods to droughts to disease –disproportionately affect poor, vulnerable communities, especially women. Through no fault of their own, people in developing countries are more than 20 times more likely to be affected by climate-related disasters as those in the developed world.
• The world is watching closely to see if the US will live up to its commitment in Copenhagen to contribute its fair share to the global mobilization of $100BN by 2020. The bulk of that commitment must come from the resources raised by a domestic cap on carbon; not through appropriations alone. The U.S. must improve its standing in the world community on climate by standing by its commitment.
2. International adaptation is a matter of national security
• US national security relies on human security abroad. Climate-exacerbated impacts (more intense and frequent droughts, floods, storms, disease) will increase poverty and hunger, migration, and conflicts over scarce natural resources, as already seen in Sudan. In many areas, such as Ethiopia, internal conflicts are on the rise between agriculturalists and pastoralists due to erratic drought seasons and water scarcity.
• Military experts describe climate change as a “threat multiplier” that poses serious challenges to US national security by undermining global stability and security. As conflicts and humanitarian disasters rise the US will be increasingly pulled in multiple directions. Investments in adaptation act as a safeguard measure.
• Waiting until later to deal with the consequences of climate change will be much more expensive. For every $1 we spend on preventive risk reduction strategies, we save $7 to $10 in disaster or conflict management – not to mention millions of lives.
3. Int’l adaptation creates economic opportunities for US businesses and workers
• American businesses are eager to supply a global demand for climate resilience technologies and services. Public investments will leverage private investments.
• Many US retailers such as Nike, Levi Strauss, Starbucks that source internationally, support international adaptation as critical to effectively protecting their global supply chains. A hit on supply chains not only causes company disruptions but can also impact US consumer prices.
• Oxfam’s report, The New Adaptation Marketplace, maps out a sampling of companies throughout the US that develop products and services that build climate preparedness. These and other firms will stand to benefit from an increase in international adaptation investments by expanding and creating more US jobs.
WOMEN AND CLIMATE CHANGE
• Women are the linchpins of societies. Women are the key providers for the family and the community; raising the children, and caring for the old and the sick. Due to this they often stay behind in harm’s way when disaster strikes. Their safety and resilience of in the face of disaster largely defines the entire community’s ability to adapt or recover from a disaster.
• Women produce between 60 to 80 percent of the food in most developing countries. They regularly do the jobs that are most affected by climate change, such as working the fields, and collecting water and fuel. They are the providers of the family’s subsistence.
• Women make up roughly 70% of the World’s poor. Women are disproportionately represented among those living below the poverty line. As such, they have less access to resources and essential services on average before and after disaster strikes. Studies show that women are more likely to die during natural disasters than men.
• Women’s empowerment is critical to climate solutions. Given their central role in the family and community, women have invaluable knowledge about creating and implementing innovative solutions to address resource constraints and adaptive strategies to disasters. They are also more likely to try new methods and technologies, and are more prone to working in groups. Some of the most progressive actions in response to environmental degradation and climate change impacts have been led by women, even while women’s voices continue to be marginalized.
THE COPENHAGEN ACCORD
• Although the Copenhagen Climate Summit did not result in everything that we need to protect the world from dangerous climate change, it did produce what the Senate needs to pass a climate bill.
• As specifically requested by the Senate, the President did not step out in front of Congress (by committing to target reductions beyond what was in previous bills) and through The Copenhagen Accord created critical breakthrough agreements that capture both action and transparency from all large emitters, particularly China.
• However, standing alone, the Copenhagen Accord cannot unlock a more ambitious agreement by the next round of talks in Mexico, November 2010. For that to happen, the US must pass a climate bill that includes international adaptation and mitigation.
• Cosponsoring S.2835 and insisting adaptation be a part of a domestic climate bill will bolster the Administration’s efforts to continue negotiating a global climate deal.
CURRENT EXAMPLES OF ADAPTATION
While communities have faced severe weather events before, they now face erratic and more severe and frequent weather events that can quickly overwhelm their capacity to respond and recover. Adaptation programs allow communities to build their resilience by adopting appropriate technologies and practices that help them cope with climate impacts.
Types of solutions:
Severe Floods: planting mangrove trees along coastlines to diffuse storm waves, creating “floatable” garden techniques, creating community-based action plans for rapid response.
Severe storms: installing early
warning systems, offering community awareness and preparedness training, improving agricultural practices that increase soil absorption.
Severe Drought: Adopting innovative water conservation techniques, installing low-cost water-catchment devices, affording low-cost drip irrigation systems, researching and using drought-resistant crops.
Real examples:
Bangladesh: coastal afforestation
Bangladesh’s coastline is highly vulnerable to cyclones and storm surge. The project aims to create a forest belt along coastlines using deep-rooted, salt-tolerant species of mangrove, in order to act as a buffer zone to protect communities in vulnerable areas. The project is also piloting options for ensuring drinkable water for communities threatened by saline water intrusion – such as rainwater harvesting, and groundwater treatment. It aims to employ, train and involve local community members, particularly women, in creating the buffer zone, so strengthening their livelihoods in the process.
Kenya: adapting to climate change in arid lands: Around 80% of Kenya’s land is arid or semi-arid, and communities there depend on pastoral or subsistence agriculture. Adaptation aims to improve food and income security in the face of climate shocks by strengthening the adaptive capacity of communities. Adaptation projects include increasing public access to forecast and early warning information, building communities’ ability to detect and act upon climatic changes, and diversifying their incomes away from subsistence agriculture. To ensure effectiveness, women farmers are fully integrated into training programs and implementation. Public-private partnerships are also explored to provide weather insurance schemes.
Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are changing their approach to climate change legislation in an attempt to fashion a bill that can pass the Senate. The problem? There is pressure to cut out the international provisions, including help for the world’s poorest people to prepare for the severe effects of climate change.
Leaving support for hard-hit poor communities out of a US climate bill not only undermines the pledge America made in Copenhagen to help those most affected by climate change – it also leaves billions of people in peril from worsening storms, droughts, & floods.
This week is crucial for influencing legislation on climate change! Call your Senators this week, and get your friends and contacts to do the same. Read more to find a script!
WHAT WE WANT OUR SENATORS TO DO:
1. Make sure a comprehensive climate and energy bill helps the world’s poorest people currently being hit hardest by climate change.
AND
2. Co-sponsor the International Climate Change Investment Act (S. 2835), introduced by Senator John Kerry. This bill will deliver the right policies to help hard-hit communities prepare for the severe impacts of climate change and promotes clean energy around the world.
IT’S EASY TO CALL:
Step 1. Dial 1-(866)-220-0044 OR 1-(202) 224-3121 to reach the Capitol Switchboard
Step 2. Ask the operator for your Senator’s office
Step 3. Express your view. Be sure to say who you are, where you are from, what you want, and why you care. (Talking points to help you out are below.) Here is a sample:
Hi, My name is ____ and I am a (your occupation) from (city/state).
I would like to ask Senator ____ to vocally support a comprehensive climate and energy bill that assists the world’s poorest people currently being hit hardest by climate change, AND to cosponsor the Climate Change Investment Act (S. 2835). This bill, S. 2835, will deliver the right policies to help hard-hit communities prepare for the severe impacts of climate change, and it will promote clean energy around the world.
I care about this because _______________, and I follow reports from organizations like Oxfam about how climate change is harming people in poverty. We need the Senator’s support now. Thank you.
Step 4. Repeat steps 1-3 for your second Senator.
THAT’S IT. EASY RIGHT? NOW ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME!
Additional tips for calling Congress (thanks to our friends at Repower America for these)
1. Who You Are
2. Where You Are From
3. Why You Are Calling
4. Now is the time to act on Climate Change and International Adaptation Legislation.
Who You Are: Who you are is extremely important to Senators and their staff. One of the primary goals of this call-in is to demonstrate broad and diverse support for climate change legislation. As a result, it is very important that you tell Senate offices who you are. If you’re a veteran, tell them you’re a veteran. If you’re a small business person, let them know. Give them all the information they ask for and more. This part is essential so please remember to tell Senate offices who you are.
Where You’re From: This is also extremely important. Senators need to know that clean energy and climate advocates come from every corner of their state.
Why You’re Calling: Senators need to know why you care. Whether your motivation is the environment, national security or jobs and the economy or all of the above, it is essential to let
Senators know why you care. (See talking points below for facts.)
Urgency: NOW is the time to ensure a comprehensive climate and energy bill helps the world’s poorest people currently being hit hardest by climate change. If the Senate does not act this year – especially in the next few months, the clock will run out on this Congressional session and it could be a very long time until they take up this issue again.
TALKING POINTS – FROM OXFAM AMERICA
1. International adaptation is a moral imperative and demonstrates US leadership
• The 4th IPCC report depicts a pending human crisis – by 2020, 250 million people will experience water scarcity, and by 2050 more than a billion people will face water shortages and hunger due to climate variability. The World Health Organization estimates that climate likely contributes to upwards of 150,000 deaths per year.
• The impacts of climate change around the world – from to floods to droughts to disease –disproportionately affect poor, vulnerable communities, especially women. Through no fault of their own, people in developing countries are more than 20 times more likely to be affected by climate-related disasters as those in the developed world.
• The world is watching closely to see if the US will live up to its commitment in Copenhagen to contribute its fair share to the global mobilization of $100BN by 2020. The bulk of that commitment must come from the resources raised by a domestic cap on carbon; not through appropriations alone. The U.S. must improve its standing in the world community on climate by standing by its commitment.
2. International adaptation is a matter of national security
• US national security relies on human security abroad. Climate-exacerbated impacts (more intense and frequent droughts, floods, storms, disease) will increase poverty and hunger, migration, and conflicts over scarce natural resources, as already seen in Sudan. In many areas, such as Ethiopia, internal conflicts are on the rise between agriculturalists and pastoralists due to erratic drought seasons and water scarcity.
• Military experts describe climate change as a “threat multiplier” that poses serious challenges to US national security by undermining global stability and security. As conflicts and humanitarian disasters rise the US will be increasingly pulled in multiple directions. Investments in adaptation act as a safeguard measure.
• Waiting until later to deal with the consequences of climate change will be much more expensive. For every $1 we spend on preventive risk reduction strategies, we save $7 to $10 in disaster or conflict management – not to mention millions of lives.
3. Int’l adaptation creates economic opportunities for US businesses and workers
• American businesses are eager to supply a global demand for climate resilience technologies and services. Public investments will leverage private investments.
• Many US retailers such as Nike, Levi Strauss, Starbucks that source internationally, support international adaptation as critical to effectively protecting their global supply chains. A hit on supply chains not only causes company disruptions but can also impact US consumer prices.
• Oxfam’s report, The New Adaptation Marketplace, maps out a sampling of companies throughout the US that develop products and services that build climate preparedness. These and other firms will stand to benefit from an increase in international adaptation investments by expanding and creating more US jobs.
WOMEN AND CLIMATE CHANGE
• Women are the linchpins of societies. Women are the key providers for the family and the community; raising the children, and caring for the old and the sick. Due to this they often stay behind in harm’s way when disaster strikes. Their safety and resilience of in the face of disaster largely defines the entire community’s ability to adapt or recover from a disaster.
• Women produce between 60 to 80 percent of the food in most developing countries. They regularly do the jobs that are most affected by climate change, such as working the fields, and collecting water and fuel. They are the providers of the family’s subsistence.
• Women make up roughly 70% of the World’s poor. Women are disproportionately represented among those living below the poverty line. As such, they have less access to resources and essential services on average before and after disaster strikes. Studies show that women are more likely to die during natural disasters than men.
• Women’s empowerment is critical to climate solutions. Given their central role in the family and community, women have invaluable knowledge about creating and implementing innovative solutions to address resource constraints and adaptive strategies to disasters. They are also more likely to try new methods and technologies, and are more prone to working in groups. Some of the most progressive actions in response to environmental degradation and climate change impacts have been led by women, even while women’s voices continue to be marginalized.
THE COPENHAGEN ACCORD
• Although the Copenhagen Climate Summit did not result in everything that we need to protect the world from dangerous climate change, it did produce what the Senate needs to pass a climate bill.
• As specifically requested by the Senate, the President did not step out in front of Congress (by committing to target reductions beyond what was in previous bills) and through The Copenhagen Accord created critical breakthrough agreements that capture both action and transparency from all large emitters, particularly China.
• However, standing alone, the Copenhagen Accord cannot unlock a more ambitious agreement by the next round of talks in Mexico, November 2010. For that to happen, the US must pass a climate bill that includes international adaptation and mitigation.
• Cosponsoring S.2835 and insisting adaptation be a part of a domestic climate bill will bolster the Administration’s efforts to continue negotiating a global climate deal.
CURRENT EXAMPLES OF ADAPTATION
While communities have faced severe weather events before, they now face erratic and more severe and frequent weather events that can quickly overwhelm their capacity to respond and recover. Adaptation programs allow communities to build their resilience by adopting appropriate technologies and practices that help them cope with climate impacts.
Types of solutions:
Severe Floods: planting mangrove trees along coastlines to diffuse storm waves, creating “floatable” garden techniques, creating community-based action plans for rapid response.
Severe storms: installing early
warning systems, offering community awareness and preparedness training, improving agricultural practices that increase soil absorption.
Severe Drought: Adopting innovative water conservation techniques, installing low-cost water-catchment devices, affording low-cost drip irrigation systems, researching and using drought-resistant crops.
Real examples:
Bangladesh: coastal afforestation
Bangladesh’s coastline is highly vulnerable to cyclones and storm surge. The project aims to create a forest belt along coastlines using deep-rooted, salt-tolerant species of mangrove, in order to act as a buffer zone to protect communities in vulnerable areas. The project is also piloting options for ensuring drinkable water for communities threatened by saline water intrusion – such as rainwater harvesting, and groundwater treatment. It aims to employ, train and involve local community members, particularly women, in creating the buffer zone, so strengthening their livelihoods in the process.
Kenya: adapting to climate change in arid lands: Around 80% of Kenya’s land is arid or semi-arid, and communities there depend on pastoral or subsistence agriculture. Adaptation aims to improve food and income security in the face of climate shocks by strengthening the adaptive capacity of communities. Adaptation projects include increasing public access to forecast and early warning information, building communities’ ability to detect and act upon climatic changes, and diversifying their incomes away from subsistence agriculture. To ensure effectiveness, women farmers are fully integrated into training programs and implementation. Public-private partnerships are also explored to provide weather insurance schemes.
Sisters on the Planet screening
Join Oxfam Action Corps NYC on Tuesday, March 9, at 7:00 pm at Bluestockings (http://bluestockings.com) to watch this documentary about four women from around the globe who are fighting the effects of climate change in their communities. See more about the documentary at www.oxfamamerica.org/sisters. After the screening we will be writing notes to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand supporting them in standing up for those women who are currently most vulnerable to climate change.
Our March monthly meeting & dinner
Oxfam Action Corps NYC monthly meeting and dinner on March 3, 2010, at Isaac's apartment
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)