By Nikki Rizzardini
April 19, 2022 — This Friday is the 52nd anniversary of Earth day – the World’s largest secular holiday to celebrate and bring focus to protecting our shared home. Environmental issues are humanitarian issues with escalating consequences for us all.
The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) trumpets us to be People of Action and rise to the occasion to protect our common legacy: the environment. The entire report can be found here:
https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg2/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGII_FinalDraft_FullReport.pdf
but to summarize, here are key take-aways as written by the Washington Post:
1. A certain amount of suffering is inevitable, though adaptation can help.
2. Every Incremental increase in temperature will lead to dramatically more disease, death and frequent, costly disasters.
3. The gap between rich and poor countries will widen as the world warms.
4. Global warming is wreaking havoc on plant and wildlife
5. For many locations on Earth, the capacity for adaptation is already significantly limited, even as it becomes more critical.
While the data is bleak, we can, and must for our children and grandchildren, take action to lessen the inevitable changes that are coming as a result of environmental degradation and climate change.
The District 5110 Environmental Committee looks forward to hosting John Mathers at the District Conference to bring us awareness of the issue and tools to make a difference. Mathers opens the conference Saturday morning with his presentation Climate Emergency – Rotarians in Action. Join John Saturday afternoon for a working session to inspire individuals and clubs to meaningful action. And learn what is going on to Protect the Environment in our District at the Environment Table in the Friendship Hall. To register for the conference, click here.Â