Floods in the Philipines Underscore the Deadly Toll from Climate Change

The deadly floods and landslides in the Philippines are but the latest example of the catastrophic impacts of extreme weather from climate change. There are almost one thousand people missing after flash floods and landslides swept houses into rivers and out to sea, killing more than 650 people in the southern Mindanao region on Friday December 16 and Saturday December 17.

Help Japan Recover from the Earthquake and Tsunami

Japan's 9.0 earthquake and 30 foot Tsunami have destroyed most of the northeastern coast of the country and caused explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Thousands of people are dead and many more are missing.

The relief and recovery process is just beginning and the global community has vowed to help Japan in any way possible. There are many ways to assist the families and victims of the disaster including donating to charities like the Red Cross.

Our hearts go out to the people of Japan in this time of tragedy and chaos. Still reeling in the aftermath of a massive quake and devastating tsunami, the Japanese now face the nightmare of meltdowns in their damaged nuclear reactors.

To make a donation directly go to Japan's Red Cross Society or see the coordinates below:

Name of Bank: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation　
Name of Branch: Ginza　
Account No.: 8047670 (Ordinary Account)　
SWIFT Code: SMBC JP JT　
Payee Name: The Japanese Red Cross Society　
Payee Address: 1-1-3 Shiba-Daimon Minato-ku, Tokyo JAPAN

Here are ten additional ways of aiding in the efforts to help Japan recover:

1. Global Giving has set up a Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and Relief Fund
2. Just Giving is raising money for ShelterBox to provide emergency shelters and supplies.
3. The International Medical Corps are putting together relief teams, as well as supplies for Japan. Here’s a link to donate.
4. Texting Red Cross at 90999.
5. The hard-working canines of the Search Dog Foundation are sending search and rescue dog teams to Japan.
6. The Salvation Army has been in Japan since 1895 and is currently providing emergency assistance to those in need. At the Salvation Army site you can designate where you want your donation to go.
7. Share Google’s Person Finder tool. Google launched a Japanese-language version to help victims and families locate one another.
8. Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres says, The MSF teams, which are comprised of medical and logistics personnel, will try to reach the area by helicopter.
9. Young people can show their support on Facebook with an online Paper Crane Campaign organized by DoSomething.org. They hope to see 100,000 origami crane photos uploaded.
10. Save The Children: They stand ready to meet the needs of children who are always the most vulnerable in a disaster.
    
    © 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
    
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McKibben Calls Extreme Weather Events Climate Disasters

An August email from 350.org's Bill McKibben, referred to this summer's floods in Pakistan, fires in Russia, and mudslides in China as climate disasters.

McKibben is America's leading environmentalist, he is also a prolific award winning author and educator. Although 350.org is primarily committed to the fight against global warming to prevent climate disasters, the organization is also helping with relief efforts by encouraging monetary donations to assist those besieged by extreme weather (see www.350.org/disasters).

Even though it is impossible to blame anthropogenic climate change for a single weather event, the torrential rains in Pakistan and China, and the heatwaves and drought in Russia are consistent with extreme weather predictions caused by global warming.

Regionally there have been record breaking temperatures from Finland to Kuwait, and downpours in China, Germany and Poland. It is a documented fact that 2010 is on tract to be the warmest year ever and with CO2 levels now at 392 many credible organizations including U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are attributing global warming to man made CO2.

According to Reinsurer Munich Re's natural catastrophe database the number of extreme weather events like windstorm and floods have tripled since 1980, and the trend is expected to continue.

The U.N. panel of climate scientists said in a 2007 report that global warming had doubled the chances of heatwaves similar to a scorching 2003 summer in Europe, in which 35,000 people died. The report also indicates that with at least 90 percent certainty that most of the warming in the past 50 years was caused by mankind.

As Bill pointed out in his email, all of the countries recently devastated by the floods, mudslides, and heatwaves were hugely active in the International Day of Climate Action last October 24 and they're all planning events for 10/10/10: the Global Work Party.

The 350.org 10/10/10 event is a day to celebrate climate solutions and push political leaderships to do the same. The floods, fires and mudslides that have killed thousands of people around the world draw attention to the most pressing concern of our time. Finding solutions to climate change will save thousands of lives today and millions of lives in the future.


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