Children are Particularly Vulnerable to the Effects of Climate Change
Children are Particularly Vulnerable to the Effects of Climate Change
Dear Partners in Green,
Whether in regard to war or Climate Change, how unfair that those most adversely affected are those who bear no responsibility for the conditions in which they are forced to live, and yes, to die.
According to a UNICEF report, children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of Climate Change.
- Killer childhood diseases are spreading more due to environmental degradation and Climate Change.
- Children are more likely to suffer from air pollution than adults.
- Infants and young children are less able to regulate their body temperature and more prone to dehydration, making them more vulnerable during extreme heat waves.
- Child malnutrition is worsened by crop failures and rising food prices, exacerbated by higher temperatures and increased rainfall linked to Climate Change.
- 40 million children are having their education disrupted every year because of disasters exacerbated by Climate Change, and this number continues to increase.
- Extreme heat is associated with an increase in mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in children and adolescents.
Despite their unique vulnerability, children have been either ignored or largely disregarded in the response to Climate Change.
As the UN Committee on the Right of the Child has pointed out, taking children’s rights and views into account would lead to more ambitious and effective policies on environmental protection.
And yet children have almost no formal role in climate policy and decision, and they are rarely considered in existing climate adaptation, mitigation or finance plans and actions! (The exclamation mark is my own.)
Out of the blue, it seems, I began wondering about the Cardinal Virtues, which originated in Greek philosophy (initially from Plato in Republic 375 BC). That through reason and practice, moral conduct would be guided. They are called “cardinal” from the Latin cardo meaning “hinge” because all moral virtues are considered to hinge on them.
Included in these virtues are:
- Prudence: The practical wisdom to discern true good in every circumstance and choose the right means to achieve it.
- Justice: The firm and constant will to give to others what is due to them.
- Fortitude: The firmness in difficulty and constancy in the pursuit of good, enabling one to resist fear and temptation.
- Temperance: The moderation of desires and pleasures, providing balance in the use of created goods.
If all of our actions had been guided by these Cardinal virtues, how might our world look?
But better late than never.
Save the children!
Please, live lightly, reduce, re-use, recycle, eat a vegetarian diet, limit your air travel, donate to UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund), to Save the Children, to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and to the Children’s Environmental Health Network, and Speak Out!
And thank you for being on this journey.
Wishing peace and health to you and your loved ones.
Until next time,
Beth
