Video - Birds are Under Threat from Climate Change

Birds are under threat from a wide range of anthropogenic causes but none are more serious than climate change. Global warming threatens the survival of nearly half the bird species in the continental United States and Canada.

Infographic - Anthropogenic Bird Mortality

Anthropogenic Causes of Bird Mortality: Climate Change, Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy

Human activities cause millions of bird deaths each year. Climate change is a serious threat to bird populations and the burning of fossil fuels are the leading cause of global warming. While fossil fuel induced climate change is the single greatest threat to birds, renewable sources of energy like wind and solar have negligible impacts. Other salient causes of bird mortality are habitat loss, domestic cats, buildings, power lines, transmission towers, contaminates and aviation.
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According to the most recent Living Planet Report, birds are among the species that have been reduced by more than half over the last forty years.There are currently a total of 9,956 birds that are listed as endangered.

Environmental Justice on the 50th Anniversary of the Passage of the Civil Rights Act

Today is the anniversary of the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act which was signed into law 50 years ago. The half century celebration pays homage not only to race, but also to progress on gay rights and the equality of women. To that list of civil rights we should be adding environmental issues.

As reviewed in an August 2013 article in the Guardian, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, the chief executive officer of Green For All made the point the Hurricane Katrina highlighted issues of injustice and inequality.

As she explained, "Climate change isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s about keeping our communities safe. It’s a matter of justice. Because when it comes to disasters — from extreme temperatures to storms like Katrina — people of color are consistently hit first and worst."

Infographic - Climate Change as a Health Issue

Canadian Sheila Watt-Cloutier the World's Leading Voice on Arctic Climate Impacts and Human Rights

Sheila Watt-Cloutier is an Inuit activist who was instrumental in helping the world understand the link between climate change impacts in the Arctic and human rights. At 60, this grandmother continues to be a leader of human rights for people living in the Arctic. Although she currently lives in Iqaluit, she was born into a traditional Inuit family in Kuujjuaq, in Northern Quebec's Nunavik region.

In 2005 she issued a legal petition against the US which focused on the relationship between climate change and human rights. This landmark effort helped to earn her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination alongside Al Gore in 2007. In addition to the nomination, she holds a number of honorary degrees and other awards. She received the Order of Canada in 2006.

Former Irish President on Development Goals, Climate and Human Rights

Former Irish president Mary Robinson, has added her voice to those who are advocating for development goals, an agreement on climate change and a stronger emphasis on human rights. Robinson is a human rights campaigner and founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice.

A Policy Perspective on Climate Change and Human Rights

Climate change is a policy issue that is tied to human rights. The physical impacts of climate change include water scarcity, sea-level rise, extreme weather and increased temperatures. All of which are related to the issues of poverty, discrimination and inequality.

Policy perspectives have both legal and moral implications which auger a number of important questions. On this front no concern is more pressing than the impacts of climate change on the human rights of the world's most vulnerable populations. Those who are most at risk from climate change are the poor who live in the developing word.

Human Rights Day (December 10): Climate Change

The UN's Human Rights Day takes place on December 10, every year. This day will be recognized at the UN headquarters in New York and in 50 countries around the world. In 2013, Human Rights Day is celebrating its 20th anniversary.  The theme this year is 20 YEARS: WORKING FOR YOUR RIGHTS. However, the emphasis is on the future and identifying the challenges that lie ahead.

December 10, 1948 is the date that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaiming its principles as the “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”

The UN acknowledges that climate change is fundamentally connected to human rights. The UN has provided guidance in the form of international human rights standards which offer measures to tackle climate change.

World Bank on Human Rights and Climate Change

The World Bank Group is developing a new strategy focused on social equity and environmental sustainability. Under the leadership of Dr. Jim Yong Kim, the World Bank is working on a strategy that is focused on equitable and sustainable development including combating climate change and environmentally responsible investing.

The new strategy positions climate change as one of five cross-cutting themes. The institution's two new goals involve ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity by fostering income growth for the poor through the sustainable use and management of natural resources.

The UN Connects Human Rights and Climate Change

Climate justice is about human rights. A warming planet has implications for everybody but the poor are the most vulnerable. The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013 reiterated the findings of previous reports stating with even more scientific certainty that anthropogenic climate change will increase the frequency of extreme weather events, raise sea levels, exacerbate droughts, increase water shortages, and accelerate the spread of diseases.

Consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are morally and legally beholden to the world's poor. 

In an open letter to all Permanent Missions in New York and in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay emphasized the responsibilities all States have to ensure full coherence between efforts to advance the green economy, on the one hand, and their human rights obligations on the other.

Video - Blog Action Day 2013: Human Rights

In 2013 Blog Action Day will take place on Wednesday October 16. This global event will bring together thousands of bloggers from over a 100 countries to participate in a global conversation about Human Rights. At the Blog Action Day site you can get access to content and ideas to create your own post on October 16.

American Acceptance of Climate Change Approaching All Time High

Following extensive misinformation campaigns from corporate misanthropes and the GOP, American support for the veracity of climate change is now approaching an all time high. Awareness about global warming is almost equal to the highest levels of support achieved in 2008. Although it may seem like it has taken an eternity, the American people are once again waking up to the reality of climate change. This view is supported by two major surveys which indicate that Americans are making the connection between extreme weather and global warming.

Researchers at the University of Michigan conducted a survey [PDF] last fall in which they asked about 1,000 people whether there is solid evidence that the world has been warming during the past four decades. More than two thirds (67 percent) agreed with that statement. To put this in context only slightly more than half (52 percent) of Americans agreed with that statement in 2010. The 2013 surveys are approaching the 72 percent mark that was recorded in 2008 before the onslaught of a nation wide propaganda campaigned intended to deny the veracity of anthropogenic global warming.

Climate Change is Already Killing 400,000 People Annually

Climate change is killing 400,000 people per year including 1,000 children a day and costing the global economy $1.2 trillion a year (which amounts to 1.6 percent of economic output). These are the findings of a September 2012 study called "Climate Vulnerability Monitor" (PDF).

An Environmentalist and a Buddhist Monk Discuss Human Behavior (Video)

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