Can someone really understand climate change if it has no impact on his/her daily life? Our routines are all similar; head to the bathroom, brush our teeth, flush the toilet, take a shower, turn on our computers. We’ll head to the fridge and even keep the thing open for a good 5 minutes while we decide what we’ll have for breakfast. Those of us blessed to have a green patch of earth will water our lawns or watch the pool man do his job while we read the paper, all the while ignoring the really important articles on page 6. The stories that tell us that one day we’ll wake up, head to the bathroom and they’ll be no water for us to brush our teeth, no water to flush our excrement or to clean ourselves. Our computers lay idle because the hydro electric plant that produces our energy does not receive enough water to power its turbines. Of our picture perfect neighborhoods becoming dusty wastelands as desertification creeps in, claiming a generation of ignorance and leaving our children stranded in a mess we created. [Continue reading...]

Volunteering your time to an organization and dedicating some of your time to a cause is one of the most noble and meaningful things a person can do. Whether assisting the poor, taking care of abandoned children or helping communities grow, the simple and generous act of participation is a rewarding experience to both the volunteer and the people they help.

Being that our own volunteer program is only months away we thought it a good idea to highlight why volunteering in Peru is such a special and rewarding experience. Right now there are thousands of volunteers preparing to travel to Peru for the Summer and hundreds of organizations taking applications. Whether volunteering in a coastal city, a small Andean village or in the jungle, the same reasons hold true for all who decide to journey to Peru and help make a difference. [Continue Reading...]

Peru’s Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde proposed to create a global fund to fight climate change at a tax rate of US$ 0.5 per barrel of oil at the annual high-level debate of the United Nations General Assembly. According to Garcia Belaunde, this financial mechanism will support mitigation and adaptation to climate change impacts in developing countries. This rate would be applied to meet the responsibilities throughout the entire oil production chain, including extraction, refining, and its direct and indirect uses. Peru is being dramatically affected by the global warming effects, witnessing a rapid retreat of its tropical glaciers. There is a concern about the plans to provide enough water for its population. It is essential to establish specific objectives on cooperation and technology transfer, and funds to develop [Continue reading...]

By TIM RATH. The dramatic effects of climate change in Peru are not simply changing the lives of native rural populations any longer. Danish model and photographer Helena Christensen traveled with the humanitarian organization Oxfam International to witness and document the effects of global warming on Peru’s poorest residents. Christensen, who is half-Peruvian, said that her time in Peru has been a life-changing experience. “I know there are extreme problems going on in the world with the climate changes, but to actually be there and to meet the people that are suffering themselves has been incredibly valuable for me,” she said. Christensen has documented her trip to Cusco, Machu Picchu and Peru’s rural communities with a photographic series that will be shown in New York, Washington, London at the United [Continue reading...]

According to a newly released report from the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) released yesterday, September 2nd, it would appear that the current warming trend recorded in the Arctic could have massive repercussions on our planet. The study shows that as much as one quarter of the globe’s population could be flooded, and that greenhouse gas emissions would increase substantially, once all the gases stored in the ices would be released back into the atmosphere. The changes that would follow would also bring about extreme worldwide weather events, the paper says. The new research, entitled “Arctic Climate Feedbacks: Global Implications,” paints a much bleaker picture than previous predictions, and should give politicians attending this December’s UN climate summit, in Copenhagen, Denmark, something to think about. The paper was written [Continue reading...]