CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SHACKS

Climate change is one of the main issues facing the world at this moment. We all know that when things go wrong, like when there is an earthquake or a flood, or a drought, poor people are most vulnerable. And usually the response to these disasters is a second disaster for poor people. For instance in Sri Lanka the so-called ‘development’ after the Tsunami forcibly removed fisherfolk from their coastal land to give it to developers to build hotels. Sometimes the attempts to prevent disaster are also a disaster for the poor. In South Africa when it is acknowledged that we as a country are using too much electricity it is not the big companies or the rich that have the police and the security guards kick down their doors to disconnect them. In some other countries in Africa poor rural people are being forced off their land so that it can be used for bio-fuels. Maybe this will slow down climate change but why must it be the poor people in Africa that must pay the price for this? They are not the ones that caused the problem. The ones that caused this problem are the rich, especially in America and in Europe.