The following news item just came in from the UN today and I think it's worth sharing. Some people still think climate change is a hoax. NOT! The item, while cause for concern on the one hand, is a hopeful story that we can all take a lesson from:


"When the mangroves started to die, Magongo Lawrence Manje knew something was wrong.

For generations, his 12,000-person community in the coastal Kilifi district in Kenya depended upon Mtwapa Creek’s marine ecosystem for its livelihood, but climate change has increased droughts in their region and altered life as they know it.

With less rain, mangroves died, leaving coastlines bare, and without the mangroves to prevent erosion and maintain salinity, fish and other marine life couldn’t breed. And as the plants, trees, and fish disappeared, farmers and fishermen had nothing to sell at market.

Magongo, who is the outreach coordinator for the Kwetu Training Center, describes how this chain reaction has affected people’s everyday lives:

“People employed in livestock and crop-growing … lose their jobs and bread basket. Fishermen are no longer getting enough catch to sustain their families, which results [in] poor nutrition. At the same time, students cannot go to school due to lack of fees and hunger.”

All this, because the mangroves disappeared. Because of climate change.

Amid these sobering facts, however, Magongo’s community has hope. Funded in part by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Kwetu Training Center is teaching the community environmental conservation techniques and helping them reclaim their livelihoods through sustainable methods. Their solutions include:

* Establishing replacement mangrove nurseries and protecting the few remaining mangrove forests.

* Introducing fish and prawn farming to generate income. Community youth play a major role by constructing fish and prawn ponds to increase productivity.

* Implementing beekeeping, organic farming, solar drying and other eco-friendly activities that bring in revenue and improve the community’s standard of living.

Magongo and his team at Kwetu are a terrific example of people taking individual action to adapt to climate change. But as Magongo said to us, everyone must educate their communities on climate change and its direct effects. Otherwise, the forests and marine life they depend on will become a thing of the past.

Do you have a story like Magongo’s? What are YOU losing because of climate change? Share your story and help spread the word – just like Magongo is doing in his community.

Thanks for joining our cause,

The UN Foundation Climate and Energy Team
(Reid, Ryan, Jana, Kurt, and John)
The link appears to be going to the domain www.UNFoundation.org, but is really going to the domain globalproblems-globalsolutions.org.
http://www.UNFoundation.org"

As soil conservationists and soil scientists have known for at least a century, soil and the plants it sustains, are THE KEY to our long term health as humans. This story reminds me of the devastation that hit New Orleans with the Hurricane, Katrina. One of the problems in that situation was the prior destruction of coastal swamps and wetlands (mangrove swamps for example). There was no protection for the coast because these natural transition zones, teeming with life had been filled, dyked, paved over, you name it. All in the name of progress and development. That means "MAKING MONEY" for some people. Don't get me wrong, I like to make money too, but not at the expense of our planetary health.

In areas of the world where past human action or localized change in weather have caused desertification, or just simply erosion, societies have disappeared or become impoverished. Case in point, the Middle East, the Sahara, the American Dust Bowl states - and I know there are more examples but since I'm not an historian I will have to research this. When soil is lost, agriculture and natural vegetation is destroyed, people starve, wars start, migrations upset normal demographics - need I say more?

I heard today on National Public Radio about how some cities in the US, San Francisco for example, are doing a fabulous job of having their citizens separate food waste from the rest of their garbage. The city collects it, composts it, and sells it back to farms and others who need it to replenish soil. The city saves money on this deal and the earth is getting a helping hand.

Next time you throw out food waste in your trash, think about starting a compost pile. Details on how to do that coming soon on this blog space!

And if you think climate change is too big and you can't help - think again. On Saturday, 24 October 2009, is an International Day of Climate Action called "350". Take a stand for a Fair Copenhagen Climate Treaty that meets the science by attending an Energy Fair near you - wherever you live in the world. Go to 350.org to see what's happening in your neighborhood. Stop by a fair and learn all sorts of ideas you can put into action immediately to help the planet.