Last week's Earth Day celebration reminded me of the first one. As a college kid responding to the passionate calls to action punctuated by pounding music, I came away thinking that if I hadn't already decided to work for women's rights, I would choose to work on environmental causes as a career.
This came to mind recently as I bumped along a dusty road in Northern Ethiopia. I was distressed by the lack of trees and by the many young women trudging along the road bent under the weight of huge piles of branches tied to their backs. Many of them never attended school or had dropped out because of the time required to travel long distances in search of wood that their families need for cooking and heat in the winter.
Later that day, I sat in the office of a corporate investor trying to convince him to invest in micro-enterprises for women starting nurseries to replenish the diminishing supply of trees. For a very small investment, his corporation could realize part of their business strategy of harvesting trees with the added benefit of improving people's wellbeing.
I told him about the village women who had started a nursery, were sending their girls to school, and had started a clinic that was delivering family planning, well baby and maternal care. In just a few years, the village's families were already stronger and the women healthier as newly-planted trees grew taller. The glazed look on his face forced me to switch tactics. I started talking about the trees instead of the people. I talked about how the women's nursery was working. The new trees would benefit his business but also moderate climate, improve air quality, conserve water and harbor wildlife. With just a minor investment, his corporation could make money and mitigate the effects of climate change and improve the nation's economy.
He dismissed me as soon as it was polite, saying his corporation was in Ethiopia for much larger investments and much bigger returns.
Caught in a traffic jam in Addis Ababa the next day, I recalled my Earth Day conflict about whether to work on women's issues or the environment. I didn't understand in 1970 how intrinsically linked the well-being of women, families and the planet are. Climate change is real and its effects are already being felt around the world - particularly by those who are most vulnerable - contributing to food insecurity, desertification, water scarcity, and a devastating increase in storms and flooding. At my organization, Population Action International (PAI), we are exploring the interconnections between climate change and population dynamics. We believe it is essential to promote the need for both family planning and reproductive health - for effective adaptation strategies as well as for climate analysis and policy formulation.
Most of us in the population, family planning/reproductive health communities are not yet sitting at the tables of those discussing climate change. This is a serious omission. It is not just polar bears and birds who must adapt to climate shock - people around the world are struggling to adapt their behaviors, their needs and their communities. Similarly, it is people who are having a dramatic impact on the speed and severity of climate changes. Convening experts from disciplines previously viewed as divergent will generate new ideas. Albert Einstein once said, "We can't solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
I am committed to bringing the resources of Population Action International to address the links between climate change and population over the next decade. I hope all of you who have ever worked to improve the lives of people or the planet will join us.