Denver Oxfam Action Corps

2008-07-01T08:52:00.001-07:00

Last week, Oxfam and other global poverty groups met with
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. At this meeting, we handed
him a global petition with over 575,000 signatures calling on
world leaders to take strong action against climate change.

The prime minister was very open to our calls for strong action
on climate change and tackling global poverty. We have you to
thank for helping us deliver such a powerful message.

Now let's keep up the momentum! Can you forward this email to
five friends and ask them to sign our petition?

Send your friends to
http://act.oxfamamerica.org/campaign/2008_g8 .

While we delivered the initial petition to Prime Minister
Fukuda, we want to grow the petition to ONE MILLION concerned
citizens worldwide before the leaders of the eight richest
countries (the G8) meet in two weeks.

Climate change is already exacting a severe toll on poor
communities?their homes and farms are the ones hardest hit when
droughts, flooding, and storms strike.

Our growing petition has the power to put climate change and
poverty at the center of the debate at the G8 Summit. The summit
coincides with the famous Japanese Tanabata festival, where
people tie written wishes to bamboo trees. We'll present the
petition as our fervent wish: that the G8 leaders commit to
ending global poverty and fighting climate change.

Thank you for all your help!!

2008 Climate Change Initiative

2008-04-13T19:07:00.001-07:00

From floods in Bangladesh to droughts in Kenya, glacier melts in Peru to hurricanes in the Caribbean, poor countries are already suffering from the effects of climate change. Oxfam America is undertaking a campaign to address the disproportionate impacts of global warming by creating equitable solutions to the crisis. We are asking that the US cut greenhouse gas emissions, and provide financial assistance so that the most vulnerable communities can adapt.

The Facts:
People in developing countries, who are least responsible for causing climate change, are more than 20 times as likely to be affected by climate-related disasters as people in the developed world. And they are the least able to cope with these disasters.

**Nearly 2 billion people in developing countries were affected by climate-related disasters in the 1990s. That rate may double in this decade. People in developing countries are more than 20 times as likely to be affected by such disasters as those in the developed world.

**As of August 2007, some 248 million people were affected by flooding that year in 11 Asian countries. Extreme floods are common in South Asia, but climate change models predict even heavier monsoon rainfall - and intense rain in unlikely places.

**Between July 2007 and October 2007, Africa's worst floods in three decades hit 23 countries from Senegal to Somalia. Nearly two million people were affected.

**By 2020, up to 250 million people across Africa could face more severe water shortages. In some countries, yields from rain-fed crops could be halved during that same time period.

What Can We Do?

We are asking that the U.S.:
**Stop Harming. As one of the world's largest producers of greenhouse gases, the U.S. must commit to reducing its emissions - and helping developing countries reduce their own emissions through clean energy technologies. By 2050, U.S. reductions must be at least 80% below the 1990 levels.

**Start Helping. The U.S. must commit to assisting poor people in developing countries who are already struggling to deal with climate change - by providing funding to help them adapt. With this funding, vulnerable communities could diversify their ways of earning a living and plan and budget for disasters.

**Establish Fair Solutions. Through U.S. climate change policies, companies producing greenhouse gas emissions should contribute toward helping poor people here and abroad.

originally published by Oxfam America

Farm Bill Update!

2008-04-13T18:42:00.001-07:00

We want to thank everyone who supported us in our work on the Farm Bill in 2007.
From a wonderful Hunger Banquet, to outreach at concerts, Farmer's Markets and house parties, awareness was raised, and voices from across the globe were heard.
And although the fight for a fair Farm Bill continues, we believe great strides have been made for those who the farm bill most adversely affects.

from the Community Food Security Coalition

On Wednesday, April 9, the conferees for the House of Representatives were announced. Following this announcement, House and Senate conferees joined together Thursday April 10 for a public hearing where Chairman Peterson and Ranking Member Goodlatte presented their latest funding framework to Senate conferees.

This framework includes $5.5 billion over current funding levels that are balanced by cuts in programs or increases in revenues that are agreeable to the President. However, it excludes the Senate's proposal for a $4 billion permanent disaster program. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Harkin agreed to take the House's proposal back to the Senate conferees. Chairman Harkin also noted that it will be up to the Senate Finance committee and the House Ways and Means committee to come to an agreement on a funding framework that may or may not include an additional $4 billion for the disaster relief program.

Earlier that week Agriculture Secretary Schafer announced that the administration would be willing to consider another short-term extension of the 2002 Farm Bill if a basic framework can be agreed upon by Congress and the administration before the current extension expires on April 18. Read More and Take Action...