If one takes a journey into the Greek history, it is evident that wine has been integrated into Greek tradition and daily diet for thousands of years. References from the ancient Greek texts such as Plato‘s Symposium, to Byzantine times and up to modern times, making it an important part of Greek culture and the source of viticulture’s art for the rest of Europe.
Although this might sound bit ambiguous, the magnitude of the impact of climate change on agriculture is foreseeable. During my internship at the International Food Policy Research Institute, I realized that amidst commendable efforts made by the international organizations to ensure food security and nutrition in the developing world, agriculture is still extremely vulnerable when it comes to climate variability and change.
Prior to this summer, I never understood people’s obsession with Game of Thrones. I had watched the first season and for the life of me could not comprehend what on earth made this crude, graphic TV series be the top entertainment trend!
How, you ask, is this related to Climate and Society? Give me a minute, it will make sense, I promise!
I’m saving quite a lot this summer. Saving by purchasing 1,000 Certified Emission Reductions (CER) that is. The reductions will not only offset the carbon footprint that I create throughout my life, but also pay into the Adaptation Fund of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In a world where Google Earth allows us to zoom in around the globe, information travels at the speed of social media and storms can be tracked many days in advance, the opportunity for humanitarian organizations to adopt advances in science and technology is vast.
This summer I was fortunate enough to snag an internship as a marketing and communications intern with EDF’s Corporate Partnerships program. Within the program, there are many projects that seek to work with companies to help them become more sustainable while also saving money. Then it is up to the marketing team to take these lessons and share them with others.
More than half the world’s 7 billion people live in cities. By 2050, population is expected to grow to 9 billion and 70 percent of humanity will live in cities. Yet even in an urbanizing world, the fate of rural areas is vitally important. More people living in cities mean more mouths to feed but less people living in rural areas to grow the food needed. Climate change is an overarching issue that everyone in the world will have to deal with no matter where they live.
In the last few years, you’ve probably come across some dire warnings about the future climate of your hometown. Maybe it was that downtown would be submerged by 2050, or that extended droughts would become the norm. Where do these projections come from?
China is currently the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter. In 2009, the Chinese government made a commitment at international climate talks to reduce its carbon emissions by 40-45 percent below 2005 level by 2020. Inevitably, it will have to make these, and possibly deeper cuts, as part of a global effort to address climate change, which means carbon markets could be a big part of China’s future.
While in Togo, I was an intern for the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, consulting with both the German and Togolese Red Cross. In Togo, they are hoping to pilot a program to establish an early warning system for natural disasters like flooding using available forecasts. The idea is that with adequate forecasting, both short and longer term, certain ‘no regrets’ actions can be taken in advance to reduce or eliminate disaster risk and humanitarian crises.