Drought
by Nooshin Shabani
Once upon a time there was a world, as time increased so did technology making the world more advanced.
People discovered all sorts of new ways to use excessive amounts of energy, but the quantity they used was damaging the earth. And so it eventually retaliated by wiping everything out, the end.
This unavoidable reality is coming soon to a town near you. The first people to go will be some of the world's poorest communities.
Words such as disease, war, and conflict, are all associated with poverty. Although the very roots from which these issues stem from are all linked to Global warming, we are contributing to this problem every day and as more natural disasters are occurring.
Rain had not graced Kenya's soil for nearly 3 years. This disastrous drought spread through other parts of East Africa and has had a huge impact on the local people and their livestock. Due to the lack of rainfall farmers are unable to grow crops, and feed their herd. A farmer without a herd is like a farmer without a seed, unproductive. This has a domino effect on a country where, according to Oxfam, 90% of the population relies on livestock alone for employment. Drought effects Kenya on a 4/5 year cycle. The aftermath is very extensive for a community who already suffer extreme poverty due to the increase of the AIDS epidemic. Although drought is a natural climatic phenomenon more research links it with Global Warming, making it a prime focus issue within the millennium development goals set by the United Nations.
The earth's temperature increasing is the cause of Global Warming, also known as the "greenhouse effect". As we burn fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, we are releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere causing the temperature to increase. Rising temperatures raises sea levels which then causes glaciers to eventually melt. This reduces supplies of fresh water as worldwide flooding occurs along the coastlines. The salt water then reaches inland. Along with flooding many of the worlds endangered species also become extinct as rising temperatures change their habitat. Diseases such as malaria, which is already a major problem in Africa, start to become more widespread as the weather expands the range of the insects which carry these vector borne diseases. As deforestation occurs more heat gets trapped in the atmosphere. The rising temperature also causes the dry lands to turn into deserts, and desertification again leads back to poverty. As we drive our cars, heat our homes, waste our water, and chop down trees for development we are slowly killing our environment. The more damage we cause through using excessive amounts of energy, the greater the consequences.
According to Kenya's natural disaster policy, the 1984 drought affected 200,000 people. The 2004 drought affected 3.5 million people. The more we ignore this problem, the more people die. People living in developing countries are far more at risk from the impacts because of their limited capacity to cope with unexpected climate fluctuations which cause natural disasters. Kenya has a limited ability to recover from the drought. As soon as the people start rebuilding their country another drought or disaster occurs, which then has a huge negative impact on the economy. There is no easy road for Africa, it's a constant dead end to poverty.
According to the report "Africa up in smoke", produced by a coalition of 18 aid and green groups, if temperatures rise by only 2°C large areas of Kenya which grow tea would become unsuitable. If this occurs the impact it will have on the country will be devastating as Tea provides nearly a quarter of the country's export earnings.
During times of drought, conflict between communities also occurs as people are desperate to survive. As resources become low so does the chance of living. According to Christian Aid the drought in Kenya has already led to an increase in prostitution and village violence. When there is no food left to sell, no livestock to make money from, women and children are left with their last resource to sell, their body. Climate change again has a dramatic negative effect socially and economically.
The developed and developing worlds both face this increasing global problem. The irony of it all is that it's the poorer countries which suffer the most due to the lack of resources they have to cope with the problems. However, these same poorer countries have the least amount of input into the cause of the problem. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the USA uses 24% of the world's energy, yet only counts as 4.6% of the population.
It is impossible not to use energy, it's how we use it.
As we strive to eradicate poverty we need to primarily destroy the root of it, we cannot solve one problem by ignoring the other.
If you want to help protect the world your children are growing in, discover the small things you can do to help destroy this disturbing problem at the Stop Child Poverty message board.
It's your world, make it last.