Action on Climate Change – Can you do something today to make a difference?

You can if one of these people is your senator:

Barbara Boxer (CA)
Max Baucus (MT)
Thomas R. Carper (DE)
Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ)
Benjamin L. Cardin (MD)
Bernard Sanders (VT)
Amy Klobuchar (MN)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Tom Udall (NM)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Arlen Specter (PA)

How to help – it’s not hard – after the jump …
Along with a great summary of why climate change matters –

ACTION ALERT on CLIMATE CHANGE (from een)
ACTION:
If your Senator is one of the targeted members of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee (see list below), please contact them with the following message: “As a Christian and your constituent I ask you to support substantially increased funding for international adaptation in comprehensive climate change legislation.”
This request is absolutely critical, as it may be our best shot at securing a level of funding for the poor in poor countries that will allow us to support the entire bill when it comes up for a final vote.
SENATORS TO BE CONTACTED:
Barbara Boxer (CA)
Max Baucus (MT)
Thomas R. Carper (DE)
Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ)
Benjamin L. Cardin (MD)
Bernard Sanders (VT)
Amy Klobuchar (MN)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Tom Udall (NM)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Arlen Specter (PA)
WHEN:
By Sept 29th, 2009.
POLICY BACKGROUND:
Comprehensive climate change legislation was passed by the House of Representatives at the end of May. Right now the key Senate Committees – especially the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee – are working to craft the Senate version of climate legislation.
One of our most important goals with this legislation is helping the poor in poor countries adapt to the consequences of climate change, which is called “international adaptation.” (This includes such activities as drought resistant crops, disaster preparedness, and efforts to combat water scarcity.)
The funding for international adaptation in the bill that passed the House in May is much too low at 1% of the allowances per year, or approximately $700 million. The inadequacy of this funding level is clear, given that the need, depending upon the severity of impacts, has been projected to be anywhere from $27-86 billion, and given that historically the US has been quite generous in dealing with other major international issues like natural disasters and AIDS, where we have contributed about 20-30% of the funding.
Ultimately there must be an international solution to this global problem. However, without U.S. legislation with significant funding for international adaptation there won’t be an international deal – the poor countries won’t accept such a situation. Thus, securing such funding within the bill reported out of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee is critical to the success of ultimately overcoming global warming. If such funding is not secured at this stage, chances of doing so at later stages will be much more difficult, if next to impossible.
ISSUE BACKGROUND:
Unfortunately, climate change will hit the poor the hardest. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s most authoritative body on the subject, some of the major impacts the poor will face include the following.
Hunger: Agricultural output in many poorer countries could be significantly reduced. 40-170 million additional poor people could be at risk of hunger and malnutrition in this century.
Thirst: Worldwide, roughly 1-2 billion people already in a water stressed situation could see a further reduction in water availability.
Flooding: Climate change could increase the number of people impacted by coastal flooding by 100 million. Millions more will face inland flooding.
Disease: Hundreds of millions of people will be at increased risk of malaria, diarrheal diseases, dengue fever, yellow fever, encephalitis, and other infectious diseases because of global warming.
Extinction: Approximately 20-30% of God’s creatures could be committed to extinction by 2050, making climate change the largest single threat to biodiversity. The poor are much more dependent upon such natural resources.
Urgent need: While climate change is a long-term problem, impacts on the poor are already starting to occur. Significant consequences will occur quite soon. For example, In Africa 75-250 million will face water scarcity by 2020, and crop yields could be reduced by 50% in some areas.
As these scientific findings attest, climate change will be an insidious reversal of our long-standing efforts to help the poor. Such impacts could create, roughly, 200 million refugees and internally displaced persons by 2050. Finally, climate change has been described by national security experts as a “threat multiplier” that could create instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world, increasing the chances for violent conflicts.
As Christians, part of loving our neighbors, caring for “the least of these,” and being good stewards of God’s creation involves working to overcome climate change, including asking our elected officials to support significant action.
HOW TO CONTACT:
Click here http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm for how to contact your Senator.
Again, the key message is as follows: “As a Christian and your constituent I ask you to support substantially increased funding for international adaptation in comprehensive climate change legislation.”