A woman stands with her back against the wind on a small char island in Bangladesh.

Source: Bangladesh Climate Change Knowledge Network

On the evening of November 15^th, 2007, a category-4 storm called Cyclone Sidr struck the low-lying coast of Bangladesh destroying everything in its path. The cyclone ravaged through 30 southern districts in both the Barisal and Khulna Divisions, where thousands of people lost their homes to strong 240 km/hr. winds, and countless others drowned and lost their lives to tidal surges 7 feet high. When the water receded, more than 3,000 individuals were dead, with over 65% of them women, and 5,000 more were missing (UNICEF Bangladesh 2007). Cyclone Sidr became one of the biggest tropical cyclones and one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit Bangladesh. Over 8.9 million Bangladeshis were affected by the storm, either through the loss of life, home, and livelihood, with women being the most disproportionately affected.

After the storm various researchers began to look into the different ways vulnerable communities, especially those of women were affected by climate change. In January 2015, the International Policy Research Institute (IPRI) published a report, which served to highlight the different ways vulnerable communities in countries like Bangladesh are disproportionally affected by climate change. The report, titled “Climate Change Adaptation Assets and Group-Based Approaches: Gendered Perceptions from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mali and Kenya[1],” especially highlighted the ways in which women will be affected by climate change.

A country map of Bangladesh

Source: Ezilion Maps

In order to understand these impacts for women, it is important to visualize the country as a whole. Bangladesh is a lush, green, predominately agricultural country located in South Asia and is among the most densely populated countries in the world. Approximately 75% of the population lives in rural areas that are highly dependent on subsistence farming among other agricultural activities that are highly sensitive to the impacts of climate change. Among these people is Swapna Begume. She has been living in her small town, South Kainmari, located in the Khulna Division of Bangladesh. She recalls Cyclone Sidr as a traumatizing experience, because even though they are constantly affected by natural disasters, like cyclones, the events are becoming much more magnified and destructive than ever.

The climatic changes Swapna talks about are just a few of the kinds of events the International Policy Research Institute addresses in their report. They include the possibility of a scenario with high emissions (more than 12,000 parts per million of CO2 equivalent), where global average sea levels could increase by approximately one meter by the end of the century. This would send a good portion of Bangladesh’s coastline underwater, and flood areas surrounding the over 80 rivers and tributaries running through the country! Not only so, climate change, or sea level rise in particular, would also increase the rate at which many of the riverbanks along the three main rivers, the Brahmaptura, Ganges, and Meghna, are eroding. Furthermore, extreme weather events, such as massive flooding, killer cyclones (like Sidr), destructive storm surges, devastating droughts, heavy monsoon downpours, and deadly salinity intrusion can all further damage crops and undermine the already fragile livelihoods of most coastal communities.

A community stands at the edge of an eroded riverbank in Bangladesh

Source: South Asian Disaster Knowledge Network

Women are at the forefront of the effects of these issues, especially in rural communities. More recently, there has been an influx in the number of male heads of households moving from the coastal regions of Bangladesh to urban areas. What this means for women is that they are then left behind to help keep everything, property and crops, afloat. When river erosion causes the main riverbanks to disappear, the only buffer or protection between coastal villages and flooding sources is destroyed. Furthermore, in the case of disaster, the female head of the household has the responsibility to secure the safety of everyone and everything before she can think of herself. After disasters, even if a woman survives, if her husband or father is killed during a natural disaster, she can lose access and ownership of her property, due to gender biased inheritance and family laws, lack of information about legal rights, and inability to access the justice system. For women in Bangladesh, control over assets and property is highly dependent on gender, which almost always favors men, so women are forced to attempt to survive in the harshest of conditions. Climate change also plays a huge role here because the impacts are expected to magnify the intensity and frequency of destructive storms like Cyclone Sidr. Swapna remembers that during Cyclone Sidr she was forced to decide whether she would save herself and her daughter or attempt to collect and safeguard her sheep and home.

Moreover, for those, like Swapna, who heavily rely on natural resources for survival, their ability to find resources and ways to adapt to climate change impacts is hindered by their gender. In a traditional society, like the one that exists in Bangladesh, women are often not allowed to be part of public conversations and are, therefore, less likely to receive critical information for emergency preparedness. The desire to gather the knowledge and tools in preparation for climate change is present in communities of women; the only thing missing is data that will support this will. The International Policy Research Institute included a very important point: adaptation strategies are defined by the way both men and women’s ideals intercept and intertwine with each other. However, with the current lack of information on the impacts climate change has on women, adaptation strategies will not be inclusive of women’s needs.

[1] Aberman, Noora-Lisa; Ali, Snigdha; Behrman, Julia A.; Bryan, Elizabeth; Davis, Peter; Donelly, Aliveen; Gathaara, Violet; Kone, Daouda; Nganga, Teresiah; Ngugi, Jane; Okoba, Barrack and Roncoli, Carla. 2015. Climate, change adaptation assets and group-based approaches: Gendered perceptions from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mali and Kenya. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1412. Washington, D.C.; International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/128950

The largest turtles on earth, leatherback turtles can be traced back to a family of turtles that existed 100 million years ago. With soft, rubbery shells measuring up to seven feet in length, these unique and historic creatures are easily identifiable. Over time, however, leatherback turtles are seen less and less often. In 1970, the species was deemed endangered- a label it continues to carry today.

http://nmlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/leatherback.jpg

There are many reasons why the leatherback turtle population is declining: the destruction of coastal nesting habitats, the frequency with which turtles drown in fishing nets, the Malaysian preference for turtle eggs as sources of nutrition, and the inability of turtles to tell the difference between their main food source and plastics, to name a few.

For humans, particularly those who rely on fish as sources of income or food, the loss of the leatherback turtle will have serious repercussions. The turtles’ main source of nutrition is jellyfish. The loss of the leatherback turtle population would cause a burgeoning of the jellyfish population. Because jellyfish feed on fish larvae, the populations of commercially popular fish could decline, impacting fishermen and consumers, thus impacting our economy.

Leatherback turtles need human help, and there are many ethical reasons why fishermen should answer their plea. For starters, there is a historical aspect to the species existence. Leatherback turtles were on this earth well before humans were and only began their steep decline with the existence of humans. Because fishermen are the primary reasons why leatherback turtles are disappearing, it is their responsibility to clean up the mess that the majority of them have made. Furthermore, leatherback turtles play an important role in various ecosystems worldwide, and healthy ecosystems contribute to large economic gains, particularly in the fishing industry.

While we must work to ensure that the fishermen do not accidently kill the turtles that help maintain their jobs, we must not shy away from putting in effort to expand leatherback turtle populations worldwide.

Clean technologies depend upon raw materials from mining operations such as the one pictured above in northern China. The black regions are sites of toxic waste created by the mining process. These toxins leach into local soils and foods, and eventually pollute the bodies of local residents.

Green, renewable, and sustainable. These words are frequently used to describe the solar panels, wind turbines, and electric cars that will fuel the future’s energy industry. But did you know that these “clean” technologies are responsible for increased rates of leukemia, mental disability, and toxic poisoning? While green technologies do not pollute the air like a coal-fired power plant, their manufacture requires toxic materials that threaten the health of local mining communities. These toxic materials are known as rare earth elements (REEs), seventeen specialized metals with unique physical and chemical properties. The services provided by the toxic REEs are so unique that no substitutes exist to replace them, meaning they remain essential components of many green technologies.

Despite their name, rare earth elements are not “rare” at all. In fact, they are more common than gold and can be found throughout the Earth’s crust. REEs are “rare” because they exist in concentrations so low that they are difficult to extract profitably. Only a few countries—such as Russia, Brazil, China, and the U.S.—possess deposits with REE concentrations high enough for human use. Unfortunately, mining these deposits poses both environmental and human health risks. The mining wastes contain traces of the toxic REEs. REEs are chronic toxins – that is, over the course of many years, they pollute the kidneys, liver, and lungs.

In 2013, a new study by China’s Fujian Normal University became one of the first to directly quantify the human health threats posed by REE mining operations. To do this, the study surveyed a farming community in southeast China (Fujian Province) that is adjacent to a REE mining facility. Health concerns related to REE mining are particularly pertinent to China, which supplies 86% of the world’s REEs and lacks adequate implementation of environmental and health safety regulations. The study compared the presence of REEs in the environment (soil, crops, and water wells) with REE concentrations in the bodies of local residents who ate locally grown produce (human hair and blood samples).

The study found that Fujian’s soils had high concentrations of toxic REEs, compared to areas without mining operations. Over half of the toxic waste in Fujian’s soil pose little risk to human health, because they attach to clay minerals in the earth. The other half, however, is bio-available; that is, REEs can be freely absorbed by vegetation. As such, locally grown crops absorb some, though not all, of the REEs present in the soil. The study found that local crops in the surveyed area had elevated levels of REE, though not at concentrations above estimated daily intake. Daily intake is the suggested amount of pollutant that is deemed “safe” for human consumption. Certain vegetables with high water contents, such as taro and water spinach, had much higher levels of REE compared with other locally grown foods. While these levels are low, long-term exposure may still cause significant harm, especially to children and infants, who are more vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals.

Much like the deadly chemical DDT, REEs can be particularly dangerous toxins because they persist in the bodies of living things for years at a time. This process is known as bioaccumulation, and is particularly dangerous, because plants and animals, including humans, can collect small, harmless doses of chemicals in their bodies over a period of years, until the concentration of chemicals becomes harmful. This is why human breast milk is considered slightly toxic: chemicals that the mother bioaccumulated throughout her lifetime can transfer to her infant through breast milk. Similarly, REEs can persist in the human body for over fifteen years.

The Fujian study demonstrates that while consuming crops with REE concentrations may not be dangerous on a daily basis, the chronic accumulation of REE over many years, especially for young children, presents significant health risks. These risks are already surfacing at Fujian: local residents had elevated REE concentrations in their blood and hair samples. Other environments more heavily polluted by REE mining may already be at risk of health damages, including lower kidney functioning and lung disease. For example, in northern China, where two-thirds of REE mining and processing takes place, REE concentrations in local soils were up to 130 times greater than polluted soils in Fujian.

Unfortunately, toxic REEs can enter the body from many sources. These “exposure pathways” include eating contaminated food, drinking polluted water, and breathing or touching REE particles in the air. While REE pollution from only one of these sources may be considered “safe,” the cumulative impacts of multiple sources pose significant threats to human health. For example, in one East Asian mining community, some houses were just 20 meters away from REE manufacturing facilities. After the mine’s arrival, a significant number of community members contracted, and died from, leukemia, and several local children were born with severe mental disabilities.

On a global scale, green technologies promise to address serious environmental problems, such as global warming, by cutting the carbon emissions from dirty industries. However, are these technologies really “green” if they depend upon the pollution of local communities? To be truly “clean,” solar panels and wind turbines cannot ignore their origins. A green and healthy future should be available to all communities.