Video - Remembering Haiyan and Working for Climate Justice

One year ago today, November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever to hit land, devastated the Philippines. Powerful winds and seven meter high storm surges killed as many as 7,300 people and forced a million families from their homes. A year later thousand of people are still homeless.

The Horrors of Typhoon Haiyan Offers a Painful Glimpse into our Future

While it is reasonable to come to the conclusion that Typhoon Haiyan was exacerbated by climate change, it is indisputable that this record breaking storm, likely the most powerful to ever make landfall, is a foretaste of our future if we continue on our current trajectory.

As we watch the painful reports of people burying their dead, searching for loved ones or desperate for food and water we would do well to remember, this is not the isolated fate of an isolated people. This is what lies in store for all of us if we fail to make the transition to a low carbon economy.

Typhoon Haiyan: Why We Must Help the People of the Philippines

We all have responsibilities to assist those who are suffering from extreme weather particularly those of us who live in wealthy nations. Climate scientists have linked Typhoon Haiyam to climate change. We already know that climate change causes extreme weather and we also know that we are all guilty of contributing to global warming. Wealthier nations have additional responsibilities as we know that our wealth was achieved through industrialization. Global warming is caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) which are a byproduct of industrialization. Therefore, wealthier countries have an obligation to help, both because we are the biggest contributors of global warming causing GHGs and because we have the means.

Typhoon Haiyan and Climate Change

Last week, Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake. Wind speeds of more than 190 miles an hour (almost 315 km/h) make Haiyan the most powerful typhoon ever to make landfall. According to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the area East of the Philippines where Haiyan formed, sea temperatures were about 0.5 to 1 degree above normal.

The Philippine's Climate Negotiator Delivers Typhoon Haiyan Inspired Message at COP 19

Typhoon Haiyan left a path of widespread devastation and according to the most recent reports it may have killed as many as 10,000 people in the Philippines. As climate delegates gather for COP 19 in Warsaw, Poland, vast numbers of people in the Philippines are mourning their dead and struggling to find food and water. Between 70 and 80 percent of all the structures in the storms path have been decimated. Entire towns have been leveled and at least 600,000 people are known to have been displaced by the storm.

Video - Typhoon Haiyan One of the Biggest Superstorms Ever on the Planet

As reported on CNN, Chief Meteorologist Chad Myers says Typhoon Haiyan could be one of the biggest storms ever to make landfall. This is certainly the case in terms of wind speed, although we have yet to acquire data related to barometric pressure.

Super Typhoon Haiyan May be the Strongest Storm in History

With sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph) and gusts as strong as 380 kph (235 mph), Haiyan may be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit land anywhere in recorded history. Haiyan's strength is right around the theoretical upper limit that cyclones can reach. The storm ravaged the Philippines with deadly winds, storm surges, torrential rainfalls, and widespread flooding as high as 10 feet in some areas.

Haiyan is known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, slammed into the country's eastern island of Samar at 4:30 a.m., before moving on to five other Philippine islands then, heading toward Vietnam. In addition to massive property damage the death toll now stands at 100 and is expected to rise