The Turnstone: talking about climate change #4
The Turnstone: talking about climate change #4
Disaster and displacement (2 minute read)
At 11 years old, I watched my neighbour’s house crumble before my eyes,
The flood waters washed away the earth and clay most people used to build their homes,
To see her wade through her home like that,
To see her try and salvage all that she had left...
Emtithal Mahmoud
Welcome to The Turnstone: talking about climate change, where I share resources to help you have better conversations about climate change. I send The Turnstone out every Sunday, alternating in-depth articles with “talking about vaccines” and “talking about climate change”. If you’d like The Turnstone emailed to you directly, you can sign up to my mailing list.
The last couple of articles that I’ve written have reminded me that climate change threatens the homes of millions of people. The war in Ukraine has reminded the world of the plight of people displaced by conflict. But climate change will displace many more. We need to think hard about how we are going to care for those fleeing from the destruction caused by climate change – as well as those who stay living in a degraded environment.
I hope that the resources I’ve shared here will help you have conversations about the direct, human impacts of climate change.
How will climate change affect migration? (4 minute read)
This article puts the impacts of climate change on migration into context – and points out that many will stay rather than flee.
Impact of Hurricane Eta and Iota (4 minute read)
The 2020 hurricane season was devastating on Central America. This article looks at the impact on children in Guatemala and Honduras
The impact of hurricanes Eta and Iota | UNICEF
International law and climate refugees (5 minute read)
When people flee their homes due to environmental degradation or disaster, there’s no legal status for them, as there is for refugees fleeing conflict and persecution. The lack of legal status makes things even more difficult and uncertain.
UN High Commission for Refugees information on climate change (7 minute read)
This article looks at some of the impacts of climate change on refugees and what the UN is doing to help them. It highlights that some of the most vulnerable to climate change are those already displaced by conflict, such as the Rohingya who are living in Bangladesh.
UNHCR - Climate change and disaster displacement
The impacts of climate change on Tuvalu (12 minute read)
An in-depth look at Tuvalu, a low-lying group of islands 1000 kilometres north of Fiji. It highlights the complex impacts that climate change is having on the islands, and how that is affecting the residents.
'One day we'll disappear': Tuvalu's sinking islands | Global development | The Guardian
Climate change poetry (5 minute video)
This month’s beautiful and powerful poem comes from Sudanese-American poet Emtithal Mahmoud. I haven’t found it written out in full online, but if you follow the link below, you can see a video of her reciting the poem.
Poet and activist Emi Mahmoud brings voices of refugees to COP26 (unrefugees.org)
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Great stuff Melanie, so nice to see your plain English explainers.