Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 9 October, 2009 - 16:55

As most bloggers probably know by now, October 15 is Blog Action Day, and the topic this year is Climate Change.

I strongly encourage Kabissa members to add their voices to the hundreds of thousands of people around the world anxious about Climate Change that will be participating. Even if you've never "blogged" before, this is a unique opportunity for you to join the conversation and share the view from YOUR community. If you don't have a blog of your own, you can use Kabissa.

Below is a video worth watching that explains the background and importance of this campaign, as well as some details and hands-on tips on what you might blog about. Let me know if you have any questions or further suggestions to share with the Kabissa community.

What is Blog Action Day?

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. One day. One issue. Thousands of voices.

Why Climate Change?

Climate change affects us all and it threatens more than the environment. It threatens to cause famine, flooding, war, and millions of refugees.

Given the urgency of the issue of climate change and the upcoming international climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December, we think the blogosphere has the unique opportunity to mobilize millions of people around expressing support for finding a sustainable solution to the climate crisis.
 

Suggested Posts

We encourage you to write about climate change in the context of how it relates to the topic of your blog. To help you start thinking, here are a few ideas about how you might connect climate change to things that you might already write about:
 

  • A Technology or Business blog might write about emerging clean tech and how innovative companies might be able to help address the problem of climate change.
  • A Health or Lifestyle blog might write about how climate change will affect our children's health and daily living.
  • A Nonprofit or Political blog might write about how climate change is deeply connected to many other issues - such as poverty and conflict.
  • A Design blog might write about new trends in eco-friendly or sustainable design.
  • A Travel blog might write about the places you want to see now before climate change makes them difficult to access or, well, under the sea.

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Submitted by on 12 October, 2009 - 16:19.

Last week I was invited to a meeting called by a local community by lake Abijata (one of the Great Rift valley lakes in Ethiopia).

It was shocking to see that the lake has receded by about 5 km and what remains is not much more than dying marsh. The community was concerned for the failing rains which this year have been more severe than ever: Most of the plots in the area were prepared but never planted because the rains failed completely.

I was glad to see that the community did not ask for charity. What they said was that despite the overwhelming role of the developed countries in the climate change, the communty itself had contributed to it by destroying the forests that the area was known for.

What they asked was technical and material help in reforesting their area.

 

Pol

 

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 13 October, 2009 - 09:56.

Hi Polivios -

Thanks for your reactions to our appeal to participate in Blog Action Day on Thursday about Climate Change. Your description of lake Abijata is indeed shocking. Do you have any pictures or links that you could share with more info on their situation?

Are there any specific organisations or people that readers of the Kabissa blog can reach in order to connect and engage with the community that is asking for technical and material help in reforesting their area?

Best wishes,

Tobias

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 13 October, 2009 - 09:49.

Below is an update from the Blog Action Day team with useful suggestions on how to participate and blog ideas. If you do not have your own blog, please join the Kabissa Connect group (http://kabissa.org/group/connect) and post your thoughts here about the impact of Climate Change on Africa. Thank you!

Hey Everyone,

Blog Action Day is this Thursday, October 15!

We're excited to report that more than 5000 bloggers have already registered from 126 countries, with more signing up each day.

If you haven't registered yet, it is not too late. Sign up here: http://www.blogactionday.org/en/blogs/new

Once you've signed up all you need to do is write a post about climate change this Thursday. We'll have a live feed of all your posts on our homepage so you can track the conversation.

But, you may be asking, what am I going to write about?

We're here to help. Climate climate impacts nearly all aspects of our lives, from business and technology to food, transportation and travel. Here's a list of ideas and places to look for inspiration when deciding what to post on Thursday.

Food: Agricultural production around the world is responsible for nearly as much greenhouse gas emissions as all forms of transportation put together, so it shouldn't be surprising that the food choices we make have a big impact on the climate. Read more and check out a few explanatory videos here.

Travel: More than 30 top travel blogs are participating in Blog Action Day. Check out who's blogging and get ideas for writing about the connection between travel, geography, transit and climate change.

Events: If you want to write about what people around the world are doing locally to take action on climate change, check out our friends at 350.org. They're organizing an International Day of Climate Action around the world on October 24. You can also check out their tools specifically for bloggers. For more events and actions to write about, go to: http://blogactionday.org/en/takeaction.

Business: Take a look at our post on 5 Ways Climate Change Will Change Business in the 21st Century to get some ideas of where climate change will have a big impact, and opportunities for the business sector.

Politics: It's hard to ignore the connection between climate change and politics -- from international negotiations to local and domestic policy debates. We've profiled some of the best political blogs participating in Blog Action Day this year where you can brush up on the inside information.

None of these topics fit your interest? We just put up a blog post with a longer list of topics and how they connect to climate, including design, technology, family, health and more. Take a look and add your ideas in the comments for everyone to see.

How you write about the way climate change affects our lives is up to you. The most important thing is that you participate so that together, we can help create an expanding global conversation about one of the most important issues we face.

Thanks so much,

Robin Beck
Lead Organizer
Blog Action Day 09: Climate Change.

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