Climate Change, Happening Now

Our President and CEO Larry Schweiger has a very touching and moving story about how climate change is impacting him personally. It involves a pond and melting ice. I won’t tell you the details because it is his story and best heard from him.

I don’t have a story of my own, yet. Just small observations here and there, like the cherry trees blooming early and no real snow in the winter. And while I might not be personally affected by climate change currently, many others like Larry are experiencing change, and not good change.

People are feeling the worsening impacts of climate change now, especially in developing countries where resources to deal with these impacts are already scarce. The World Wildlife Fund has set up a Climate Witness Program, which catalogs these stories. Stories of beach erosion and lost housing in Africa, rapidly growing glacial lakes that could burst and flood in Nepal, unpredictable weather and river currents in India, and many more.

These are the impacts that are felt now and they are only expected to worsen if we don’t act now. We have the opportunity to slow and eventually stop climate change and lessen the impacts felt both here and abroad. The Climate Security Act will help us reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and help developing countries adapt to the changes in climate that are already being felt and the worsening impacts that are predicted.

If we act now, severe damage from climate can be avoided. If we fail to act now, we can expect more and more stories to be added to the Climate Witness Program.

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Kelly Rand
Policy Coordinator, International Affairs