Download Climate Refugees - Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin

an
Your Presenter
Lutheran Office for Public Policy in
Wisconsin (LOPPW)
and South-Central Synod of Wisconsin
Thank you to Dr. Sumudu Atapattu of
University of Wisconsin Law School for the
use of several of her slides from her
presentation: Climate Change and Human
Rights – The Cost of Climate Change
THE EARTH IS
LOPPW Is…
Part of the ELCA Advocacy Network, & State Public Policy Office.
Check us out at www.loppw.org
And Like us on Facebook: Look up LOPPW
How We Discern
Scriptural ~ Moses, the Prophets, & Gospel
Lutheran Teaching ~ Receive Daily Bread
Social Statements ~ Christians in Society
ELCA World Hunger ~ Policies that address the root causes
of hunger and dignify life.
Relevant to Wisconsin ~ realities of hunger in our state.
Dialogue ~ bishops and ELCA members, ecumenical and
interfaith partners
Advisory Council and Director work on policies
NOTE: We do not support political parties but work with
policy makers on issues.
NEW SCSW/LOPPW
CARE FOR GOD’S CREATION TEAM
ELCA World Hunger
The prophet Isaiah’s words teach us
that to help those who are hungry, to
work for justice for all people, is to
experience the transformative and
connecting power of God. As Lutheran
Christians, freed by the grace of God and
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
to serve our neighbors, this directive leads
us to give of ourselves and to work and
advocate for justice.
ELCA World Hunger

ELCA World Hunger
Educate
Development
Advocacy – work with governments
2016 Year of
ELCA World Hunger
Why Advocacy
The change in one state policy can impact
more people than all church programs in the
state.
Public policies are not the backstage.
Another way to answer the question, How
do I love my neighbor?
Contribution of greenhouse gases by source (EPA)
Dr. Atapattu
Global GHG emissions by gas (EPA)
Dr.
Atapattu
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Scientific body under the UN and established in 1988.
Synthesizes scientific research on CC
 Received Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with VP Al Gore – Professor
Jonathan Patz of UW is a member of the IPCC – “for their
efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about
man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the
measures that are needed to counteract such change”
 Translating science into policy and law - using scientific
uncertainty as an excuse
 IPCC 5th Assessment Report to Policymakers(2014):
“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the
1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over
decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have
warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and
sea level has risen.”
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Dr. Atapattu
IICC contd
“Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have
increased since the pre-industrial era, driven largely by
economic and population growth, and are now higher
than ever. This has led to atmospheric concentrations
of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that are
unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years. Their
effects, together with those of other anthropogenic
drivers, have been detected throughout the climate
system and are extremely likely to have been the
dominant cause of the observed warming since the
mid-20th century.”
No longer any doubt about the contribution of human
beings to creating the problem Dr. Atapattu
Consequences of climate change
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Water scarcity
Food scarcity
Flooding and drought
Increased severe weather events (frequency and
intensity)
Sea level rise associated with warming seas, melting
glaciers
Inundation of low lying areas and complete
submergence of small island states
Health impacts- increased incidence of vector borne
diseases, heatwaves, water-borne diseases
Loss of ecosystem services
Increased wild fires Dr. Atapattu
Some Impacts of Climate Change
Dr. Atapattu
Sea level rise
Dr. Atapattu
Change in Water Availability
Dr.
Atapattu
Droughts and Desertification
Dr. Atapattu
Increased Fires in California
Dr. Atapattu
Typhoon Haiyan, Phillipines 2013
Dr. Atapattu
Hurricane Sandy, New York
2012
Dr. Atapattu
Adaptation measures
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Even if states were to go for zero emissions tomorrow
(very unlikely), climate change will continue for decades
because of the GHGs already in the atmosphere.
Thus, adapting to a warmer climate is a necessity for the
current generation and the next (at least)
Those who contributed least to the problem will be
affected disproportionately – raising justice issues
Adaptation measure that we put in place should be
evaluated for their human rights impact
At a minimum, adaptation plans must be made with the
participation of those who are likely to be affected,
provide them with the necessary information and
incorporating their local knowledge in these plans
Dr. Atapattu
Climate Change & Wisconsin
Warming trend similar to global trends - likely to
continue and will increase considerably by the middle of
the Century
 More precipitation
 Warmer winters - winter temperatures will continue to
increase more than those of other seasons
 Impact on tourism – less snow
 Lakes – more algae due to warmer temperatures
 Agriculture – more pests due to warmer winters
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Dr. Atapattu
Climate change adaptation is all about
water – either too much...
Dr. Atapattu
Or too little…
Dr. Atapattu
Human Rights of Vulnerable Groups
Just
as some states will be more affected by
climate change than others (small island states,
low-lying states, Polar Regions and Africa), several
groups may be more affected than others due to
historic marginalization, their vulnerability and
subordination or simply because international law
lacks a legal framework to govern them
The book discusses three such groups: women,
indigenous peoples and “climate refugees”
Human rights law provides a good framework to
protect these groups Dr. Atapattu
Women
In many societies women are responsible for
fetching water, gathering firewood. Climate change
will exacerbate water scarcity and women and girl
children will have to walk longer to fetch water
Dr.
Atapattu
Indigenous Groups
Dr.
Atapattu
Climate Refugees
IPCC
1st report recognized that the greatest single impact of
climate change will be on human migration
People will move temporarily (due to severe weather events) or
permanently (severe drought, lack of resources or in the case of
small island states) – is a form of adaptation
Projected numbers range between 20 million - 200 million by
2050 (International Organization for Migration) – numbers have
been criticized. Hard to link migration directly to climate change
Displacement for most part will be internal and temporary
Cross-border migration cannot be ruled out and could
exacerbate
existing tensions – this is where international law must step in
No legal framework to govern them and various terms exist
Dr. Atapattu
Native Village Kavalina, Alaska
Dr. Atapattu
America’s First Climate Refugees
Will these Alaska villagers be America's first
climate change refugees?
 Scientists estimate that due to climate change,
the village of Kivalina, in northwestern Alaska,
will be underwater by the year 2025.
 Army Corp of Engineers determined in 2006 that
the Village of Kivalina should be relocated
because they can no longer live there. Cost of
relocation is around $123-249 million. It is not
clear who should pay for the relocation. No
location has so far been found and people live in
dire conditions
Dr. Atapattu
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Climate Change Related Diseases
Dr. Atapattu
Access to Resources and Conflict
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Security experts are increasingly worried about the
security implications of climate change
Some scholars believe - CC will exacerbate resource
scarcity, create mass population displacement and
ultimately fuel violent conflict (others say this will
increase cooperation) – CC is a threat multiplier
Poverty and other vulnerabilities will compound these
Resource scarcity
Conflict
Migration Dr. Atapattu
Small Island States and their People
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Small island states http://aosis.org/internationalyear-video/
They are at the risk of slowly sinking and
eventually disappearing – about 40 states are at
the risk of completely disappearing
What will happen to the people? Where will they
go? Can we move states?
Their citizenship? Who will house them?
What is the legal situation when states
completely disappear?
Dr. Atapattu
Small Island States
Dr. Atapattu
COP 21
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Results
ELCA’s Response
Opportunity
Climate change provides a great opportunity for the
international community to move to a low carbon
economy
 Great opportunity for industry to develop technology
 Role of education
 Role of the media – using social media
 Citizens peaceful protests
 Holding governments and industries accountable
 Starting small – tackling the issue from every level
 Should not be overwhelmed. Some have said, rather than
conflict, this will give rise to tremendous opportunity for
cooperation 
Dr. Atapattu
What is Happening in
Wisconsin?
Conclusion
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Climate change is a complex problem and can often seem
overwhelming
Virtually everything we do contributes to it
Every country in the world, every sector of the economy is
contributing
Fast approaching tipping points – no return possible
Recent World Bank report – approaching an increase of 40 Celsius
in temperature
Urgent call for action – the longer we wait, the harder the choices
will become
But we have to start somewhere – we created this problem so we
should try to solve it
CC affects almost all protected rights but a human rights framework
has limitations – square pegs in round holes
Be hopeful– Hopelessness is the enemy of justice (Bryan Stevenson)
Hopeful that our world leaders will do the right thing and we will too
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Dr. Atapattu
Next Steps
Sign up for Green Team
 Action Alerts
 Don’t forget to like us on Facebook under
LOPPW
 Donate to ELCA World Hunger
Contact us at
www.loppw.org
[email protected]
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We are not alone
When Jesus prepared to leave this world in
his human form he said to his disciples in
St. John 14:16:
“God will give you another
Advocate, to be with you forever.”
EXTRA SLIDES IF NEEDED
LOPPW’s Realm - Advocacy
Advocacy is
 getting to the core of an issue
 speaking with and on behalf of the needs of
another and seeking to influence public policy
toward justice and the common good.
As people of faith in the ELCA we
 advocate for just, sound and compassionate
public policies consistent with scripture and
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America social
policy.
Advocacy includes
Becoming aware of people’s struggles and
roots of problems; educating others –
holding forums
 Strategizing about solutions
 Writing letters to the editor; writing letters
to and calling legislators and visiting
legislators and their staff
 Connecting with other groups such as
LOPPW
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Realities in the
U.S. & Wisconsin
U.S. is a Leader in Child Poverty in the Developed World:
America’s wealth grew by 60% in the past six years, by
$30 trillion. In approximately the same time, the number
of homeless children has grown by 60%.
Wisconsin
FoodShare Enrollment: 722,000 people; 322,000
households;
Wisconsin Schools serve 317,000 kids free and reduced
price meals; 13-15,000 youth in Wisconsin homeless.
12.5% of people in Wisconsin live below poverty line
How Does Hunger
Impact Children?
Health
Problems
Acting up in School
Poor performance
Briefly about a Lengthy Subject
In the U.S. hunger is not caused by scarcity of
food but rather the continued prevalence of
poverty. Both issues must be addressed in our
continued efforts to help those Jesus called “the
least of these (Mt. 25:45)
What causes poverty? Leads to questions about
power, persistent inequality, corporate and
governmental accountability and agricultural
policies.
Budgets as Moral Documents!
“For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be.” Mt. 6:21
“The
budget is a profoundly moral document,” former
Clinton advisor Paul Begala
“What would Jesus cut?” Jim Wallis
“I am excited to stand with Better Choices as we advocate
for ways to continue Wisconsin’s strong history of caring
for the vulnerable, offering excellent education for our
young and supporting a higher education system second to
none. We can and must make choices that reverse the
trends of the past four years of continuously advocating
primarily for the strong and the affluent.” Bishop Rick
Hoyme
“We pray that of all faiths, all races, all
nations, may have their great human
needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall
come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom
may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have
freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities;
that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn
charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and
ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and
that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live
together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of
mutual respect and love.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Our Values
What do you prioritize when you
Organize your personal budget?
Approve of church budgets?
Evaluate your work budget?
Respond to cuts in your schools?
Respond to proposed state and federal
budgets?
Better Choices Budget for WI
Cuts proposed in the State Budget
Better Choices Budget (handout)
What can we do?
Money, Politics, and Poverty
U.S. ELECTION CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Adopted at 1995 ELCA Assembly
RESOLVED, that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America call upon its members and the Lutheran
Office for Governmental Affairs to advocate for the
enactment of campaign finance reform legislation at
the local, state, and national levels, so that an
equal opportunity may be provided for all
candidates for elected office, regardless of their
personal wealth or the wealth of their supporters.
U. S. Presidents since 1953
Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)
 John Kennedy
(1961-1964)
 Lyndon Johnson
(1963-1969)
 Richard Nixon
(1969-1974)
 Gerald Ford
(1974-1977)
 James Carter
(1977-1981)
 Ronald Reagan
(1981-1989)
 George H Bush
(1989-1993)
 William Clinton
(1993-2001)
 George W. Bush
(2001-2009)
 Barak Obama
(2009
Tax Rate of top 1%
91%
91%
70%
77%
70%
70%
28%
31%
39%
35%
35%
Does not include reduction on taxes due to lower tax rate on capital gains.
Loophole
Most income for the 1% of wealthiest people goes
to them via capital gains, which is taxed at 15%.
Warren
Buffet (net worth is $86 billion) paid a
total of 17.7% on his taxes. He said his
receptionist paid 32.9%
Mitt Romney – 13%
8-figure entrepreneur interviewed in Inequality
for All (Robert Reich) – 11%
An Action to Take Now
The ELCA has a campaign to support the
the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization.
You can just leave cards at the LOPPW table
or mail them into the ELCA office. Please let
LOPPW know if you’d like more cards.
ELCA Washington D.C. Office
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We work through political channels on behalf of the
following biblical values: peacemaking, hospitality to
strangers, care for creation, and concern for people
living in poverty and struggling with hunger and disease.
For more information on ELCA Advocacy visit
at www.ELCA.org/advocacy
Facebook: ELCA Advocacy
Twitter: ELCA advocacy
State Public Policy Offices
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Arizona – Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Arizona
California – California Lutheran Advocacy Ministry
Colorado – Colorado Lutheran Advocacy
Illinois – Lutheran Advocacy of Illinois
Iowa – Social Justice Advocacy Lutheran Services in Iowa
Minnesota – Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota
Nevada – Lutheran Episcopal Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN)
New Jersey – Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in NJ
New Mexico – Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – New Mexico
Pennsylvania – Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPA)
Virginia – Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
Washington – Faith Action Network
Wisconsin – Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW)
LOPPW Works in Partnership with
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Northwest Synod of Wisconsin
Greater Milwaukee Synod
South Central Synod of Wisconsin
East Central Synod of Wisconsin
Northern Great Lakes Synod
La Crosse Area Synod
www.loppw.org
E-mail Director Cindy Crane at
[email protected]
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Don’t forget to like us on Facebook
END
Food Security
exists when all people, at all times, have
physical, social and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food that
meets their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life
Food and Agriculture Organization (United Nations)
Having food security
for a household means access by all members at all times
to enough food for an active, healthy life; includes at a
minimum:
 The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and
safe foods.
 Assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially
acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to
emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or
other coping strategies
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Levels of Food Security
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High food security — no problems, or anxiety about
consistently accessing adequate food
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Marginal food security — problems at times, or
anxiety about, accessing adequate food, but the quality,
variety, and quantity of food intake is not substantially
reduced
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Low food security — quality, variety, and desirability
of diet is reduced, but the quantity of food intake and
normal eating patterns are not substantially disrupted
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Very low food security — At times during the year,
eating patterns of one or more household members is
disrupted and food intake reduced because the
household money and other resources for food
Kyrie and Gloria
Think of a time when someone advocated for
you in a positive way. How did it make you
feel?
 Think of a time when you wished you had an
advocate but no one did. How did that make
you feel?
 Think of the first time you were an advocate for
someone or some people, or other creatures or
a cause. How did your actions affect you? Did
it impact your faith journey?
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Activism/Advocacy
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An activist is a person who makes an intentional action
to bring about social or political change.
Example: Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who
challenged racial segregation in 1955 by refusing to give
up her seat on a bus for a white man.
An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another
person or group.
Example: Angelina Jolie is a United Nations Goodwill
Ambassador (UNHCR) who uses her talent and fame to
advocate for refugees.
Advocacy Happens….
LEARN: What is happening in our
community, nationally and globally.
PRAY & DISCERN: How are we being called
to witness the love of Jesus and our love
for one another.
ACT: We are freed by grace. We respond
in our call to then serve.
Quiz
Two-part quiz: In which decade was
hunger almost eliminated in the U.S.?
And which president launched and
bolstered programs to make it so?
Richard Nixon in the 1970s
Expanded food stamp, elderly feeding, and
school breakfast programs.
When do we say a youth is homeless?
The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youth as individuals
who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence. The term
includes children and youth who are:
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sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing,
economic hardship, or similar reasons;
living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds;
living in emergency or transitional shelters
abandoned in hospitals;
awaiting foster-care placement;
living in a primary night-time residence not used as a regular
sleeping accommodation;
living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings,
substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
migratory children living in any of the circumstances described
above.
How many children and youth are
homeless in Wisconsin?
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During the 2003-04 school year, 5,358
students were identified as homeless. At
the end of the 2010-11 school year,
13,364 students were identified as being
homeless in Wisconsin public schools.
Homeless identification has nearly tripled
in Wisconsin over the eight years that
identification has been required by the
USDE.
Minimum Wage
CEO Craig Culver told Wisconsin Public Radio he supported
a “two-tiered approach” to raising the minimum wage by
establishing a minimum wage for teenage workers and a
higher base wage for adults.
“I don’t think it’s realistic to raise the youth wage as well
from $7.25 to $10.10. Culver proposes raising the
minimum wage for workers between 14 and 17 years old
to $8 per hour, while bringing workers 18 and over to
$10.10.
Circle of Social Ministry
Serve
Directly
Educate
Donate
Advocate
Talking about Advocacy
in your Congregation
Talk to leaders in your congregation starting with your
pastor about an issue you want to pursue on level of
advocacy. Is it new or complementing work being done?
In a group discussion bring it down to a personal level:
 How have you grown in your faith through your
involvement? What have you gotten out of doing
advocacy? Are you able to share a particularly joyful
moment of accomplishment or a time advocacy was clearly
connected to discipleship?
Have you ever wanted to give up? Why – what was it
like? How did you get through it?
Manual coming in the late summer.