Join the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network (CYCN) - For individuals ONLY

The Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network (CYCN) was established in 2009 by young environmental activists from the Commonwealth. The Network is officially recognised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and is placed under the supervision of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP). The CYCN’s vision is to make climate change a top priority for young people across the Commonwealth and to engage them as key stakeholders in addressing the issue at a grassroots, national and regional level through individual and collective sustainable solutions. The Network’s mission is to build a Commonwealth where young people (especially climate and environmental activists, leaders, professionals and their organizations) are provided with the capacities and opportunities to effectively address climate change and other important environmental issues and find sustainable individual and collective solutions.

  In order to achieve its vision and mission, the CYCN is calling young people (aged 18-29) and youth organisations from across the Commonwealth working on climate change, environmental and sustainable development issues to join its membership database. The database will enable the Network to connect members to share knowledge, skills, expertise, resources, best practices, and support each other in their work. This will create a mapping of young people and organizations in the Commonwealth facing these issues in their daily life. In addition, registered members on the database will benefit from working closely with the Network in accessing new skills, capacity-building, and in developing and implementing activities, campaigns, and projects. 

 Important before filling this form: Please learn more about the Commonwealth at: www.thecommonwealth.org and the CYCN at: www.youthclimate.org.uk Also check the list of Commonwealth member countries at: http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/142227/members. 

 This form is only for individuals willing to join the CYCN. Not for organisations. Please fill in the following information in order for you to join the CYCN database. Note that all fields marked with * are mandatory. All collected information will remain confidential and the privacy of the individuals. They cannot be made public without their approval.

Click the link below to register https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1q0LflGULUaOR-uEMztO8xoGEOi7ADBsnZ6oDE1oU3tM/viewform

1. Global Warming Cause: Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants. 

Our ever increasing addiction to electricity from coal burning power plants releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 40% of U.S. CO2 emissions come from electricity production, and burning coal accounts for 93% of emissions from the electric utility industry [ EPA, pg. 10]. Every day, more electric gadgets flood the market, and without widespread alternative energy sources, we are highly dependent on burning coal for our personal and commercial electrical supply.

2. Global Warming Cause: Carbon dioxide emissions from burning gasoline for transportation. 

Our modern car culture and appetite for globally sourced goods is responsible for about 33% of emissions in the U.S. [ EPA pg. 8] With our population growing at an alarming rate, the demand for more cars and consumer goods means that we are increasing the use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing. Our consumption is outpacing our discoveries of ways to mitigate the effects, with no end in sight to our massive consumer culture.

3. Global Warming Cause: Methane emissions from animals , agriculture such as rice paddies, and from Arctic seabeds. 

Methane is another extremely potent greenhouse gas, ranking right behind CO2. When organic matter is broken down by bacteria under oxygen-starved conditions (anaerobic decomposition) as in rice paddies, methane is produced. The process also takes place in the intestines of herbivorous animals, and with the increase in the amount of concentrated livestock production, the levels of methane released into the atmosphere is increasing. Another source of methane is methane clathrate, a compound containing large amounts of methane trapped in the crystal structure of ice. As

methane escapes from the Arctic seabed , the rate of global warming will increase significantly.

4. Global Warming Cause: Deforestation , especially tropical forests for wood, pulp, and farmland. 

The use of forests for fuel (both wood and for charcoal) is one cause of deforestation, but in the first world, our appetite for wood and paper products, our consumption of livestock grazed on former forest land, and the use of tropical forest lands for commodities like palm oil plantations contributes to the mass deforestation of our world. Forests remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and this deforestation releases large amounts of carbon, as well as reducing the amount of carbon capture on the planet.

5. Global Warming Cause: Increase in usage of chemical fertilizers on croplands. 

In the last half of the 20th century, the use of chemical fertilizers (as opposed to the historical use of animal manure) has risen dramatically. The high rate of application of nitrogen-rich fertilizers has effects on the heat storage of cropland (nitrogen oxides have 300 times more heat-trapping capacity per unit of volume than carbon dioxide) and the run-off of excess fertilizers creates ‘dead-zones’ in our oceans. In addition to these effects, high nitrate levels in groundwater due to over-fertilization are cause for concern for human health.

6. Global Warming Effect: Rise in sea levels worldwide

Scientists predict an increase in sea levels worldwide due to the melting of two massive ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, especially on the East coast of the U.S . However, many nations around the world will experience the effects of

rising sea levels , which could displace millions of people. One nation, the Maldives, is already looking for a new home, thanks to rising sea levels.

7. Global Warming Effect: More killer storms. 

The severity of storms such as hurricanes and cyclones is increasing, and research published in Nature found:

“Scientists have come up with the firmest evidence so far that global warming will significantly increase the intensity of the most extreme storms worldwide . The maximum wind speeds of the strongest tropical cyclones have increased significantly since 1981, according to research published in Nature this week. And the upward trend, thought to be driven by rising ocean temperatures, is unlikely to stop at any time soon.”

8. Global Warming Effect: Massive crop failures

According to recent research, there is a

90% chance that 3 billion people worldwide will have to choose between moving their families to milder climes and going hungry due to climate change within 100 years. One of the main causes of this will be the spread of desertification, and its accompanying effects.

“Climate change is expected to have the most severe impact on water supplies. “Shortages in future are likely to threaten food production, reduce sanitation, hinder economic development and damage ecosystems. It causes more violent swings between floods and droughts.”” – Guardian: Global warming causes 300,000 deaths a year. 

9. Global Warming Effect: Widespread extinction of species. 

According to research published in Nature, by 2050, rising temperatures could lead to the extinction of more than a million species. And because we can’t exist without a diverse population of species on Earth, this is scary news for humans.

This 6th mass extinction is really just a continuation of the holocene extinction which began at the end of the last ice age and has resulted in the extinction of nearly all of the Earth’s megafauna animals, largely as a result of human-expansion.

“Climate change now represents at least as great a threat to the number of species surviving on Earth as habitat-destruction and modification.” Chris Thomas, conservation biologist at the University of Leeds

Widespread species loss and lists of endangered species just keep growing. This is a concerning matter on many fronts.

10. Global Warming Effect: Disappearance of coral reefs

A report on coral reefs from WWF says that in a worst case scenario, coral populations will collapse by 2100 due to increased temperatures and ocean acidification. The ‘bleaching’ of corals from small but prolonged rises in sea temperature is a severe danger for ocean ecosystems, and many other species in the oceans rely on coral reefs for their survival.

“Despite the oceans’s immensity — 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface with an average depth of almost 4km (2½m) — there are indications that it is approaching its tipping point. For reefs, warming waters and acidification are closing in like a pair of jaws that threaten to make them the first global ecosystem to disappear.” – Times Online: 21st-century Noah’s Ark needed to save coral reefs from extinction. 

Source: planetsave.com/2009/06/07/global-warming-effects-and-causes-a-top-10-list

Climate Change Is Messing with Earth's Axis

The spin of the Earth is a constant in our lives. It’s quite literally why night follows day.

And while that cycle isn’t going away, climate change is messing with the axis upon which our fair planet spins. Ice melting has caused a drift in polar motion, a somewhat esoteric term that tells scientists a lot about past and future climate and is crucial in GPS calculations and satellite communication.

Polar motion refers to the periodic wobble and drift of the poles. It’s been observed for more than 130 years, but the process has been going on for eons driven by mass shifts inside the Earth as well as ones on the surface. For decades, the north pole had been slowly drifting toward Canada, but there was a shift in the drift about 15 years ago. Now it’s headed almost directly down the Greenwich Meridian. 

Like many other natural processes large and small, from sea levels to wildfires, climate change is also playing a role in this shift.

“Since about 2000, there has been a dramatic shift in this general direction,” Surendra Adhikari, a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said. “It is due to climate change without a doubt. It’s related to ice sheets, in particular the Greenland ice sheet.”

That ice sheet has seen its ice loss speed up and has lost an average of 278 gigatons of ice a year since 2000 as temperatures warm. The Antarctic has lost 92 gigatons a year over that time while other stashes of ice from Alaska to Patagonia are also melting and sending water to the oceans, redistributing theweit.

Adhikari and his colleague Erik Ivins published their findings in Science Advances on Friday, showing that melting ice explains about 66 percent of the change in the shift of the Earth's spin axis, particularly the rapid losses occurring in Greenland.

It’s a huge, mind boggling process on the global scale, but imagine it like a top. Spinning a top with a bunch of pennies on it will cause wobble and drift in a certain pattern. If you rearrange the pennies, the wobble and drift will be slightly different.

That’s essentially what climate change is doing, except instead of pennies, it’s ice and instead of a top, it’s the planet. Suffice to say, the stakes are a little higher.

Ice loss explains most but not all of the shift. The rest can mostly be chalked up to droughts and heavy rains in certain parts of the globe. Adhikari said this knowledge could be used to help scientists analyze past instances of polar motion shifts and rainfall patterns as well as answer questions about future hydrological cycle changes.

Ice is expected to continue melting and with it, polar motion is expected to continue changing as well.

“What I can tell you is we anticipate a big loss of mass from West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and that will mean that the general direction of the pole won’t go back to Canada for sure,” Adhikari said.

If it continues moving down the Greenwich Meridian or meanders another way remains to be seen, though.

“This depends highly on the region where ice melts, or if the effect of ice melt would be counterbalanced by another effect (for example sea level rise, increased water storage on continents, changes of climate zones),” Florian Seitz, the director of German Geodetic Research Institute, said in an email.

In the here and now, polar motion shifts matter for astronomical observations and perhaps even more importantly for the average person, GPS calculations.

Source: http://m.livescience.com/54360-climate-change-is-changing-earth-spin-axis

Join the world bank group in turning climate science into action

 Join the world bank group in turning climate science into action by enrolling for MOOC

 Each part of the world faces specific vulnerabilities to climate change and has different opportunities to mitigate the effects and build resilience in the 21st century. With the Paris Agreement at COP 21, the global community has signaled its intent to act. Indeed, without climate action, decades of development progress are threatened, meaning that we are at a ‘make it or break it’ point in time. This course presents the most recent scientific evidence, regional impacts and climate action strategies, and some opportunities for you to take action on climate change.

This action-oriented MOOC gives you the opportunity to learn about regional climate change impacts and sector-specific strategies to increase resilience and move towards a low-carbon future. You will have the opportunity to explore these issues in depth and tailor your learning experience for one or more of the following regions:

    Latin America and Caribbean;
    Sub-Saharan Africa;
    Middle East and North Africa;
    Eastern Europe and Central Asia;
    East Asia and Pacific; and
    South Asia.

To do this, the MOOC brings together renowned scientists and policymakers to provide a synthesis of the most recent scientific evidence on climate change, regional low emissions and climate resilient development strategies across sectors, and an analysis of the Paris Agreement and other outcomes of COP 21.

 Click on the link below for more info, on how to enroll for the course
https://www.coursera.org/course/warmerworld

Warning: Coal power plant intensifies- World Bank

Climate change up with migration and pandemics asthe major threat to global economy, says Jim kim






 The planet is in a race against time to stop construction of new coal-fired power plants across the globe, Word Bank head Jim Kim told media on Thursday.

Despite 195 countries approving a new global deal to combat climate change last December, plans to build hundreds of carbon-intensive energy plants were still live, he warned.

 “We are working with countries to make renewables cheaper than coal and push forward efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change,” said Jim.

Rising temperatures, mass migration and the potential of a global pandemic were the current major threats to the global economy, he added at a press conference to mark the start of the Bank’s 2016 spring meeting.

 Last week the world’s top lender to developing countries announced it would spend 28% of investments on climate-related projects by 2020.

Report: World Bank to ramp up climate change portfolio

 Jim’s comments came on the same day pressure groups accused the World Bank of giving over $2 billion to oil, gas and coal projects.

“The Asian Development Bank has had a ban on financing fossil fuel exploration projects for years,” said Alex Doukas from the Oil Change International NGO.

“There’s no reason the World Bank couldn’t adopt a similar policy as a first step toward phasing out all finance for polluting fossil fuel projects.”

 A bank spokesperson said it had not funded any greenfield coal projects for the past five years. Officials are believed to be discussing a complete ban on new coal investments.

Comment: World Bank cash for fossil fuels is worst kind of hypocrisy


 While coal use in Europe and the US is steadily falling, countries in Africa and Asia are among those with plans to build an estimated 1,500 power stations.

 Leaders in Poland, Australia, South Korea and Japan are among those who have suggested new coal plants are consistent with wider efforts to develop tougher climate regulations.

But a new study by WFF and Dutch analytical firm Ecofys warns that development of even the most efficient coal plants will blow the chances of limiting global warming to below the 2C danger zone.

 “It is clear that in a post-Paris world, there is quite simply no role for coal, however ‘efficient’,” said WWF economist Sebastien Godinot.
 source: Climate Home

Surprising: ways climate change harms our health

Climate change is bad for your health. There’s no question that the impacts of a warming world — harsher heat waves, increased flooding — will put a strain on our nation’s public health. Take one example: studies predict some 11,000 additional heat-related deaths during summers about 15 years from now. 

But other health-related climate consequences have proven more difficult to tease out and thus more difficult to quantify. The White House released a scientific report on Monday that draws on research from eight federal agencies to provide the most comprehensive look yet at climate’s health impacts.

 “I don’t know that we’ve seen something like this before, where you have a force that has such a multitude of effects,” U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told reporters when previewing the report. “As far as history is concerned, this is a new type of threat that we’re facing.” 

Here are some of the more unexpected consequences of climate change identified in the report: 

Americans are at greater risk of eating contaminated food. Higher temperatures and more extreme weather create perfect conditions for dangerous contaminants to make their way into the food supply. For example, researchers found a link between higher ocean temperatures and mercury accumulation in seafood.

Warmer weather and flooding also raises the chance for foodborne illnesses like salmonella.  More of the water we drink may be unsafe. The same problems in food affect water quality, with extreme weather and floods raising the risk of bacteria, pathogens, and other contaminants. Plus, higher temps give harmful algae the opportunity to thrive in new, more widespread parts of the country. Compounding the problem is when flooding overwhelms our existing and quite creaky water infrastructure.

 Mosquitoes and ticks will be more than an itchy nuisance. Mild winters and early warmer seasons allow insects to travel further and faster, carrying illnesses like Lyme Disease with them. 

Disasters will compromise mental health for already-vulnerable populations. Just think about the stress that extreme weather events like Hurricane Katrina or Superstorm Sandy add to people’s lives: displaced families, economic losses, ruined livelihoods. For children, the elderly, and pregnant women, who are among the most vulnerable, these conditions can lead to post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression.

 The air you breathe is dirtier. Fossil fuels make our air dirtier — that’s obvious. But greenhouse gases can impact air quality in other ways. Climate change affects weather and precipitation patterns, changing how smog and particulate matter moves over cities.

 More wildfires add pollution  to the air, too.  Lives are literally at stake if we don’t act on climate change. Even a small global change in average temperature can hurt people at the extremes, and the same holds true for health — affecting the poor, indigenous, very young, and very elderly people the most. 

“The public health case for climate action is really compelling beyond words,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said. “It’s not just about glaciers and polar bears. It’s about the health of our kids.”

 source
 www.grist.org Grist is based in the Emerald City of Seattle, in the Evergreen State of Washington (both green!), with contributors scattered the world ’round. A nonprofit organization funded by foundations, user contributions, and advertising.

W.TEC Digital Marketing for Professional Business Women

W.TEC Digital Marketing Workshop for Professional Business Women
W.TEC Digital Marketing for Professional Business Women is an initiative designed to expose young women to amazing digital tools and techniques that would help them drive the desired result for their brand, business or company and career opportunities. The workshop is designed as part of W.TEC SHE CAN with ICT!!! Technology & Entrepreneurship program for women.

The 2-day workshop introduces participants to practical sessions on the following:

1.) Digital Storytelling using videos

2.) Digital Social Media Marketing

3.) Productivity Tools for your Business (Mind-mapping and Newsletter)

The Digital Marketing Workshop will give participants an understanding of how to harness the power of digital marketing as a core driver of the marketing strategy for businesses.


You can call EldaDavid for more information: 08086034420, elda@w-teconline.organd Yemi 08106590284


 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qISQNR0QIv_ftZ1kLMCPsmPsFSrno7K2C_d-eYosOSM/viewform

Apply for the WHS Pre-Summit Dialogue

Call for Application: WHS
Pre-Summit Dialogue
The United Nations Major Group on Children
and Youth (WHS -Western and Central
Africa) in collaboration with the United
Nations Information Centre (UNIC Nigeria)
is calling on young humanitarians to
participate in its Pre-Summit Dialogue aimed
at bringing together youth and important
stakeholders from the UN to discuss on the
theme - Youth and Effective Humanitarian
Action in Nigeria.

This is an avenue to share success stories
on youth-led humanitarian actions and
acquire more information on how to
become proactive humanitarian actors in
Nigeria.

The participants will also engage in working
group discussions to make actionable
commitments towards the World
Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.


We are looking for 100 participants with
experience in the field of humanitarian
response, preparedness, reporting or
recovery.
Deadline: 17th April, 2016.
 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1F95HM8F-W62TmgAHTwTouw5AjRVhv_hD8E9dLxZL2To/viewform?c=0&w=1

Register To Attend Africa CleanUp Conference #ACC2016


 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1C-PMrYvanPlSZqDT3Ucfwly0864LM19N8_I_omPyXuE/viewform?c=0&w=1

Africa Clean-up Conference is an international conference aimed at bringing together environmental sustainability champions, civic leaders, producers of recyclables, government agencies and officials of like minds to share ideas and proffer solutions to issues on sanitation, climate change, recycling and waste management. The theme for this year's conference is: “ENGAGING LOCAL COMMUNITIES ON SUSTAINABLE BEST PRACTICE IN SANITATION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT”

The Africa Clean up Conference is expected to attract 200 delegates across Africa, which also presents an excellent opportunity to share expertise and make connections before, during and after the event. The Africa CleanUp Conference objectives are to:

Create a platform for participants to promote their products and service.

 Foster a complete change of attitude in order to completely deal with deterioration of sanitary conditions in cities and towns.

Proffers action plans towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals' 2030 relating to Sanitation, Waste Management, Climate change and Recycling.

• Seek targeted solutions to unique problems in the environment; synergize and network for mutual growth and impact.

 • Inspire participants to obtain fresh motivation to engage in voluntary clean up exercises in their communities.

 • Promote national development as waste could be seen as a resource that could be transformed through recycling, recovering as well as reusing of material that could generate income and also serve as a source of employment and national development.

FIVE DIMENSIONAL APPROACHES TO THE AFRICA CLEAN UP EVENT 2016:

 • Conference Training
 • Africa Cleanup Award
 • Green Exhibition / Fair
 • Clean up Anthony Project
 • Miss Environment International Beauty Pageant

We believe this event will be a highly rewarding and networking experience for all.
The Africa CleanUp Conference will be held from Thursday 23 - Sunday 26 June 2016 at BANEX HOTEL & SUITES – 60 Olorunlogbon Street, VOM Estate, Near Anthony Police Station, Anthony - Maryland, Lagos, Nigeria. Delegates arrive on Thursday 23rd June and Depart Sunday 26th June.

CONFERENCE PACKAGE LOCAL PARTICIPANTS:
• Early Bird: N30, 000 (payment before April 29th, 2016)
 • Regular: N45, 000 (Payment after April 29th, 2016)
 INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS:
• Early Bird: 150.00 USD (payment before April 29th, 2016)
 • Regular: 200.00 USD (Payment after April 29th, 2016)

CONFERENCE FEE COVERS:
 • T-Shirt
 • Feeding (Breakfast and Lunch)
 • Certificate of Participation
 • Airport pick up for our International Delegate
 • Free Health Screening

 ACCOMMODATION FEE (Optional):
• One Hundred Dollars ($100) for International Delegate.
 • N20, 000 for Local Delegate which covers Delegate THREE NIGHTS.

 N.B: SHARED ROOM (2 IN A ROOM) All local payment should be made in favour of THE PASSION HOUSE (Naira Account) 0015454620.
 Guaranty Trust Bank All international payment should be made in favour of THE PASSION HOUSE (Dollar Account) 0106508203. Guaranty Trust Bank.

Please call Elizabeth on 08164747968, 08175945045 OR send a mail to info@cleanupnigeria.org if you have any concern or enquiry.

 We look forward to seeing you at Africa CleanUp Conference in June 2016. Participation in this conference is STRICTLY by registration. Register here:

Apply for the UN Conference on Housing and sustainable urban development

Sustainable Urban
Development and Housing
Working Group
The Working Group within the UN MGCY for
Habitat III: UN Conference on Housing and
Sustainable Urban Development

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RDBC1IWSOgmRbcdYF_60cXHLGbH-FTJMdxAqAhDWddk/viewform

Motivating individuals to engage in pro-environmental behavior haven’t gain prominent momentum in our society today. Psychological understanding of the different variables to behavior and attitude peculiar to Nigerian people, which is influence by their social, cultural and religious beliefs, has to be further capitalized for policy making and research seeking solution to solving environment problems, that require behavioral change. Studies have indicated that no single technique can be used to ignite pro-environmental attitude in different people.

 Pro-environmental behaviors are the activities or actions that people do, engage in everyday life that significantly promotes the betterment of the environment. For example, recycling of used waste, reduction in household consumption of fuel (firewood), elevating the green nature of the surrounding environment (planting new tress, pollinating fruit trees). Reforming the act of pro-environmental behaviorism among youths’ in Nigeria shows the need to identify the existing factors that influences attitude. 

According to Kollmuss and Agyeman (2002), environmental influence can be separated into both direct and indirect experiences. “Direct experience have a stronger influence on people’s behavior than indirect experience, ….. such as learning about environmental problem in school as opposed to directly experiencing it”. 

Behaviors which pre-existed in both direct and indirect influence, such as childhood experiences, knowledge and education, felt responsibility, cultural norms and values (depicts a traditional belief that a forest or tree possess/attract spiritual power, in some cases are to be destroyed), age difference, gender concern, social class, urban-rural differences, proximity to problematic environmental sites, cultural and ethnic variation among others.

 This begin to explain how the society or individual is influenced, having non-environmental goals to contribute to environmental development. The mindset that the environment is idle, which continue to exist without flaws, mainly because it has not (yet) had a direct influence or experience of hostile effect on their personal wellbeing. They don’t even know the outcome of their actions. For example, much of the Nigerian household do not even understand the implication of the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, what green house effect means or even what it is about climate change.

 Identifying the need for environmental activist to integrate solutions derived from individual and groups psychological processes, and from survey statistics to relay, orient individuals towards particular action. Lack of openness to speak freely, not relating well with others for a proper data collection, hinders efficient analysis. Community sample and undergraduate student sample are of a necessity. 

Information is one of the key approaches to reformation; people need to know what they do, the way they do it, the result of what they do and also providing facts. Although, most individuals neglect this climate change issues even when they know all about it, these people needs to see some goal settings that will prompts their actions, like the economic benefits. 

 Understanding existing beliefs to introduce new ways of acting according to those beliefs is a prerequisite. Goal setting ask people to set their own target, such as certain reduction in consumption of fuel, pledging to plant new trees, recycling and proper waste disposal. These are some of the social-psychological techniques to transform pro environmental behavior in Nigeria. Getting feedback on the level of impact have, on their behavior as seen or reward/incentive of pro-environmental behavior.

 Transforming youths’ attitude needs to be taken with utmost priority. Starting from elementary schools, to tertiary level, they need to know about sustaining the environment, need to identify key element in the environment. And live up to have a positive environmental behavior. Knowledge learned will infuse into their parent and families.

Youths’ in institutions are to take active role in participating, volunteering and contributing to solve these issues of climate change. We need to voice out our GO FOR GREEN campaign in the mind of every Nigerian. 

Send in your suggestions and comment.  Subscribe to our blog to get more articles on environmental engagement.