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It is a freaky hot Monday just past the Winter Solstice. During the past week the world celebrated World Refugee Day. This moved us to focus on the plea of refugees locally and world-wide. Currently we are looking at 50 million people.
Ostensibly fleeing war and violence, but what is the root cause? Inevitably environmental constraints. Competition for rare resources – food, water, energy, etc. All exacerbated by climate change. Droughts, floods, devastating weather adds to the challenges this planet is marching into at a significant pace.
In 2009 it was predicted that there will be 200 million climate refugees on the planet by 2050. As we know, all trends turned out to be worse than originally admitted. This year, five years later, the new figure predicted for 2050 is up to 1 billion climate refugees. If this trend persists, the entire world population could be refugees by 2050?
Don’t we have enough problems to also concern ourselves with the refugees, my son asked. It could have been us, I said. It could be us, he said.
We are keen to share local refugee stories and will support their telling going forward. Please participate if you have something to contribute.
Even for those who don’t end up moving, severe changes in climate can lead to a psychological condition called ‘solastalgia.’ This is homesickness without leaving home, caused by novel climates. So this is everyone’s issue – nobody is exempted.
“Neyawenha skannoh” means "thank you for being well." This Indian greeting says it all. What happens to you and what happens to the earth happens to us as well. (Chief Oren Lyons in Spiritual Ecology - The Cry of the Earth)
Don't miss exciting green events on our CALENDAR here. Still coming up this month: Food Dialogues, Energy and Water Efficiency courses, Earth Fest, the Science, Consciousness and Ancient Civilisations Conference, Urban Eco Life Festival, Grown your Own Food course, and then the World Student Environmental Network’s Global Summit in Stellenbosch – held for the first time in a developing country. See you there?
onwards greening
Elma and the team
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