Climate Change and its Impacts on Food Security: What Can We Do? (Part 1)

Climate change may be the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. If the present trend continues, the world will likely experience a severe average increase in temperature by the end of this century, endangering our civilization, as we know it. The speaker will argue it is time to put the climate change debate behind us and get on with the tasks at hand. We will need to both mitigate and adapt. Food insecurity for example is already an issue many places on the globe and will probably get worse as we head into a warmer world. It is however not too late to avoid the worst effects of climate change if we act now. Luckily, many strategies are available to reduce the risks, but political will is lagging on when, where and how to start. The speaker will discuss important facts about the impacts of climate change on food security both here and in other parts of the world as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation options at the grassroots level. Speaker: Sandy Aberdeen Sandy completed the Environmental Management program at the University of Calgary 16 years ago. A Leadership for the Environment and Development (LEAD) fellow, Sandy and his son started Calgary’s first single site urban farm. He has recently completed a permaculture design course with Verge Permaculture, and in August 2012 received training from Al Gore to present on The Climate Reality Project. Taking the Environmental Management Program helped Sandy understand environmental issues and challenges. The more he learns about climate change and global warming the more concerned he becomes and he feels morally and ethically obligated to work on making a difference.