Communities and Climate Change

Oxfam Action Corps - Minnesota is kicking off our contributions to Oxfam America's climate change campaign by supporting a major Oxfam America event in Minneapolis.

Join Oxfam on March 12 for Climate Change and Communities. You’ll learn about the links between climate change and poverty and the small steps you can take to make a big difference.

Guest speakers Meena Raman of Friends of the Earth International and Joyce Patience Tembenu of Malawi will inform listeners of the effects of climate change on their own communities as well as efforts to develop local and global solutions.

Come hear what they have to say and leave with a new perspective on climate change and an understanding of how you can help ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable communities will have access to the financial and technological resources needed to adapt to climate change. Visit Oxfam America's event page for details.

• When: Wednesday, March 12, 2008. Program begins at 7:00 PM. Doors open at 6:15 PM.
• Where: Pohlad Hall, Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis MN 55401
• Free and open to the public.

Contact Lew Hille at lhille@oxfamamerica.org for more information. Our thanks to The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library for co-sponsoring and hosting this event.

Help us spread the word.
Because it will be such an important evening, we want everyone to know about the Climate Change and Communities event. Help us spread the word by sharing the details with your friends, on your blog, MySpace/Facebook page, or anywhere else. You can download this flier to distribute (PDF, 449KB). Thank you!

Why is Oxfam America concerned about climate change?
Oxfam Action Corps members are excited to help spread the word because climate change is already undermining lives and livelihoods in many of the world’s most vulnerable communities; the increasing frequency and severity of floods, droughts, and hurricanes threaten the very resources poor countries rely on. According to the United Nations Development Program, these events “are likely to place additional strains on poorer countries already facing serious challenges due to food insecurity, indebtedness, HIV/AIDS, environmental degradation, armed conflicts, economic shocks, and the effects of globalization.”

Visit Oxfam America's climate change website for more information and links to coalition allies. The UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development is also an excellent resource for background information.

What about the Farm Bill?
Oxfam Action Corps was launched to help advocate for all of Oxfam America's goals, however most of our activities have centered on reforming the US Farm Bill to reduce the trade-distorting subsidies causing poverty abroad. The Farm Bill is currently stalled in the conference committee process, but don't worry - we're following developments and will let you know when further action opportunities arise.

More Farm Bill news:
Bemidji Pioneer, Farm Bill faces uphill battle
Christopher B. Barrett in the Ithaca Journal, A step in the wrong direction for food aid
Orlando Sentinel, Congress shouldn't OK subsidy-laden farm bill
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Farm Bill: Only paper reform