|
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ufUGMDL_CmjYKvoRjjiON8yR2-IU15o_g3FZGbSoFMqQQselXiaRRgbe8febquqFNcCBJZtsRr9ZOeITO3RfkMJLpTEfq3Tne90jkzylO2tc9pfuI_oy-OogPRbZWz1aRfahXsi24dLqsobhjCXArX=s0-d)
ONE is joining forces with the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN)—including:
They are combining efforts across the Aid Advocacy community to help elevate the call for development and foreign assistance reform for President Obama and his key advisors through the Presidential Study Directive on U.S. Global Development Policy.
Tom Hart, Director of Government Relations at ONE.org advised in an email:Right now, President Obama and his senior advisors, led by National Security Advisor James Jones and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers, are preparing a Presidential Study Directive that will shape the future of U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, fight disease, and create economic opportunity for the world's poorest people.
The petition they want us to sign, with my two cents added, reads:
Please create a U.S. global development strategy giving development a strong voice in foreign policy decisions and coordinating efforts to alleviate global poverty, fight disease, and create economic opportunity.
This would be the strongest message that you could send to the rest of world supporting the vision you put forth when accepting your Nobel Peace Prize. It would also be one of the most significant actions the United States could take in supporting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals especially to end poverty.
MFAN will deliver the petition to key White House contacts on December 18. They are looking to get 25,000 signature and so far they have 23,989 with 3,999 from California. So this time I am getting this out about a week early giving anyone who reads this an opportunity to add their voice so that they reach their goal.
Bad news first, I am way behind doing posts for this blog and the situation with Copenhagen and the smoking e-mails has been moving too fast for me to keep up. Good news, before I was overwhelmed at work I was able to get my two cents in through a number of the organizations this blog supports. Better yet, all those emails from activists and slacktivists alike seems to have made a difference so the good people from CARE have let me know. I know that Avaaz (235,980 last count trying for 240,000) and 350.org are continuing the campaign and taking it to the streets of Copenhagen and streets around the world. Even if I can't keep up like I would like hopefully others can.
Thank you for sending a letter to President Obama encouraging him to personally attend the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen.
You made a difference! Thanks in part to your efforts, the president will be attending the conference. The White House statement confirming President Obama's presence said, ''The president believes it is possible to reach a meaningful agreement in Copenhagen. ''The announcement also called President Obama's decision, ''a sign of his continuing commitment and leadership to find a global solution to the global threat of climate change.''
Your commitment helps make the world a brighter place for all, and I look forward to working with you again soon. Together, we are helping to create a world without poverty.
Sincerely,
Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO
This is what I said beyond the template email plea to President Obama:
Whether they are afflicted because they are at the lowest rungs of the world economy or because they are one of the low lying nations facing extinction from global warming people or in danger of dying or barely surviving. It is the failure of the majority of nations not to have the political will to come together and address the issues. They had the will to promise under the Millennium Declaration, but not the will to fulfill the promise in particular Millennium Development Goal 7 Environmental Sustainability. COP15 would be a step in the right direction if nations put aside their own particular interests and look to the good of the planet.
We have a chance to take a positive leadership role in the world and bring needed change. We are now suffering from an international economic crisis and global climate damage. One billion are in even greater danger of overwhelming disaster. We have the greatest resources at our disposal on the planet, so we should take up the greatest responsibility. It is going to take a global effort and we should be a significant part.
Another big event I missed because of real life/day job was 350.org and the more than 3000 extraordinary climate actions across nearly every country, from the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef to the summit of Mount Everest. Click to see the events map:
The 350 day of action is named for 350 parts per million, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere that scientists say would be the safe for the climate. (At the moment, we're at 387 parts per million and climbing fast.) Most immediately, 350 is the number world leaders need to lead with as they prepare to meet in Copenhagen this December to draft a new global climate treaty.
Quick links to more info about 350.org:
Of course, all this is leading up to the Copenhagen summit in December when 192 nations of the world gather again as they did back in 2000 and made the millennium promises which still remain unfulfilled. One particular fulfilled promise is now endangering us all unless positive and real action is taken and that is Millennium Development Goal 7 Environmental Sustainability.
What is becoming ever more apparent is the connection between global climate and poverty. CARE is thought of as an organization helping the poor in the far flung regions of the world, but it too is taking a stand against climate change.
CARE is working toward a world where people living in poverty can create opportunities despite the obstacles they face. But the reality about climate change is that it makes poor people even more vulnerable. Agricultural production is declining in the poorest developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Less reliable rainfall is effecting planting seasons, crop growth and livestock health, and leading to increased malnutrition.
In Zimbabwe, women make up 75 percent of the labor force in agriculture, and their livelihoods depend almost exclusively on natural resources. Droughts and the occasional cyclone, combined with limited resources for irrigation, left many women either waiting for the rainy season or suffering through floods that destroyed their crops and devastated their landscape. CARE worked with them to better manage their scarce water resources and modify their farming techniques in order to adapt to new climate conditions.
As President Obama told the United Nations recently, "Developing nations are already living with the unfolding effects of a warming planet: famine and drought, disappearing coastal villages and the conflict that arises from scarce resources. Their future is no longer a choice between a growing economy and a cleaner planet, because their survival depends on both."
The international community is negotiating a new agreement to guide global efforts to address climate change. These negotiations will conclude in Copenhagen, Denmark, in fewer than 50 days! The United States must help lead those efforts and forge strong agreements that cap emissions to prevent catastrophic warming and respond effectively to climate change affects already in motion.
P.S. CARE has launched a new Web site just about climate change. Click here to view all the resources we have made available.
compartflowers toolbar has lots of useful features and many people seem to like it (including me!).
