Guest blog: Women at the center of climate change

By Andrea Durbin
Executive Director, Oregon Environmental Council

All around the world, women are bearing the brunt of climate change. As providers of food, water and shelter, women are key to ensuring their families survive weather extremes and resource challenges. These impacts are being most profoundly felt in third world countries, where drought and shifting temperatures are limiting agricultural production and making water a rare commodity for those least responsible for man-made carbon emissions.

According to Population Action International, one of the ways more and more women are adapting to the challenges of climate change is through a growing interest in contraception. Access to reproductive health services leads to healthier mothers, healthier children, and more opportunities for earning money in new ways, which can be critical in areas where traditional farming or fishing has been undermined. Ultimately, access to family planning allows a woman to improve her own life and boosts her family’s resilience to climate change.

Here in the U.S., consumerism presents another significant contributor to climate disruption. Americans consume roughly a third of the world’s resources, while representing only about 4.5 percent of its population. And recent reports indicate that women make or influence 85 percent of all purchasing decisions.

These links will be the central topic of discussion for “Women at the Center: Climate Change, Consumption and Reproductive Health” on September 27 in Portland. Erik Assadourian of Worldwatch Institute and  Suzanne Ehlers of Population Action International, will join Oregon Environmental Council's Executive Director Andrea Durbin for an in-depth discussion. Registration, which includes dinner, is only $20. We hope to see you there!