GRAND Magazine - September/October 2016 - 32

grand environment

Continued from previous page
our website, eldersclimateaction.org. And in this
issue of GRAND, we are announcing a new campaign: ELDER CLIMATE VOTERS, in which elders are

Click here to see how much you know

We invite you to join with us:
Become an Elder Climate Voter at
www.eldersclimateaction/voter, and
join Elders Climate Action. All of our
grandchildren are counting on us!
32 GRAND

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2016

CONNECT WITH GRAND

Projected impacts of climate change

Please watch our short video
pledging to vote in every election, and to consider
candidates' positions on climate solutions when
casting their ballots.

Click to be an Elder Climate Voter

Paul Severance served for 27 years as
Executive Director of United Senior Action, an
Indiana statewide senior citizens' advocacy
organization. He is now retired, and serves as
Co-Chair of Elders Climate Action.

* Sea level rise, as a result of the oceans increasing in volume as they warm,
and also as a result of land ice in polar regions melting and running off into the
ocean, will make uninhabitable coastal areas which are home to a large percentage of the world's population. The likely result: millions of climate refugees.
* Loss of agricultural production. While some areas will be better for growing
crops on a warming planet, experts agree that overall there will likely be a largescale decrease in crops due to spreading drought in many parts of the world.
* Collapse of ocean fisheries. Rising ocean acidity, due to more carbon dioxide, attacks key species at the bottom of the ocean food chain, threatening the
entire marine food web.
* Infectious diseases will likely spread from the tropics into areas where there
is not built up immunity - with devastating effects.
* Inadequate supplies of safe drinking water will affect millions - we're already
seeing this in California and many other places in the world.
* Wildfires will become more frequent, more widespread, and stronger.
* Severe weather events will continue to increase, as they have in recent
years.
* More heat waves, combined with more wildfires, will increase dangerous
smog in many areas.
* The costs to the world economy of these impacts will be huge, and affect
the economic wellbeing of everyone on this Earth.
All of our information leads us to believe that we have a relatively narrow
window of opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to avoid real
catastrophe - estimates range from 10 to 20 years in which a massive restructuring of our energy systems must happen. While individuals taking responsibility to reduce their own carbon footprints is important as a matter of personal
integrity, I don't think any serious source on this issue believes that anything less
than major national policy changes will make the difference required. That is why
our emphasis is on elders stepping up into the role of advocates for the policy
changes that will be essential for the wellbeing of future generations.

But there's good news!

The good news coming out of the scientific community is that we still have a
window of opportunity to avoid the worst impacts of climate change if we make a
rapid shift away from fossil fuels and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions
within the next 20 years or so - which is doable if we make that a high priority.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine https://www.pinterest.com/GRANDmagazine2/ https://plus.google.com/114746402480325356757 http://www.eldersclimateaction.org/ https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts/health-assessment-quiz.html http://www.eldersclimateaction.org/voter http://www.eldersclimateaction.org/voter http://www.eldersclimateaction.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - September/October 2016