Women and U.S. Mayors—The Secret Weapons for Solving Climate Change

The climate change crisis presents a challenge on two fronts: 1) It requires adaptation to the change that already has arrived, and 2) It demands continued effort to prevent or reduce future change.

Common approaches to fight the first front include building bigger seawalls and learning to farm new crops in different habitats. But a critical component that's not well-recognized is empowering women, the primary providers and caregivers around the world. Similarly, on the second front, the focused (and frustrated) efforts at the national and international level often overshadow progress in cities and towns under the purview of mayors.

This week, you can take action to help both strategies (empowering women and influencing mayors) gain traction—battling climate change on both fronts.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day in March 2011, Oxfam America has launched a series of initiatives to remind us that women's empowerment, climate change and world hunger are inextricably linked.

Their point? Helping to nurture the first will enable us to more effectively tackle the rest. Despite the fact that women provide a majority of the world's food, inequalities (lack of access to education, credit, policy negotiations, etc.) mean women are disproportionately affected by climate change impacts (droughts, floods, increased disease).

Conversely, women also often have the knowledge and power to develop solutions.

Help women gain access to the resources they need to prepare their families and communities for the realities of climate change by lending your image to Oxfam America's Ending Hunger Starts Here Photo Book campaign.

Similar to 350.org's approach, this effort will collect thousands of images of people from around the world showing support of women-focused hunger and climate change solutions. You can also further raise awareness by host a screening of Oxfam's film featuring Sisters on the Planet. It features women leaders such as Joy Bryant and Frances Moor Lappe working to get the word out about these issues.

Then, continue to fight the root of the problem by getting more mayors across America to sign the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

To date, more than 1,000 mayors have already pledged support of this initiative, in which cities strive to meet or beat the 2005 Kyoto Protocol emissions reduction targets.  However, many large cities, and hundreds of smaller ones have not yet signed on. 

Encourage the mayors of Houston, TX and Memphis, TN (both in the top 20 biggest cities in the country) to sign on.  Then, check to make sure your own mayor has joined in here.  If not, start your own petition or let us know and we'll add them to the list.

Correction: Originally Charlotte, NC was listed on this petition as well, but it turns out the city has already signed the Mayor's climate agreement. Their name has been removed from the petition.

Photo credit: MagnusFranklin

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