African Climes

And now for the prequel. Scenario 4 Climate change worsens or compounds effects arising from other phenomena. Take conflict or war for example. Still back home. In a particularly hot year, the hottest in a long series of hot years, conflict broke out between the community A who were farmers and  community B who were pastoralists. Gathoni or Mso , as she is affectionately known, lives in a town that borders the huge mountain she hopes to climb one day, when she is all grown up. She dreams about it sometimes when she is hiding behind the bush that is in front of their house. This time round, she is woken from her childlike reverie by the playful hands of Kamau, who yells joyfully that he has found her and runs quickly to tap his win on the huge log which serves as the central point in their game. They are playing hide and seek. At dinnertime, Gathoni often asks her father to tell her a story. Like how they came to live here. Today, as she asks her father the same quest...

Well then, settle in everyone. Thanks for that glass of water, lovelee. So lights off and let’s listen to the rest of the story. So then, where were we….. Scenario Three Climate change means that the incidence of extreme weather events increases. It also means that they are not completely predictable. So one day, Ali, for that is his given name, is busy getting  his father’s herd ready for the long journey to the best pasture lands, which are over the next two ridges beyond his village. So he and his younger brother get their provisions ready and they get the journey going. Along the way, Ali is listening to freshly minted music on his smartphone and his younger brother is whistling along. The young boy is excited. He is heading to Form One, in the same secondary school his brother did his final year. Ali is all set to go university, he now feels like a grown up and can’t wait to step out on his own. So this holiday, Ali’s father is a proud man. His two sons ar...

Hello readers! Here’s to hoping you are well and all is swell. Today we tackle a topic that touches many. Climate change and mental health. The World Health Organization, or WHO in short, as from October 2016 declared a whole year to raise awareness and campaign against depression using the campaign #Let’s Talk. Depression it seems is the most prevalent mental condition, affecting about 300 million people globally according to WHO. There are however other conditions like bipolar, dementia, PTSD or schizophrenia. So today, we are going to discuss how climate change can cause, worsen or compound depression and these other mental health conditions. To start with, let’s go back to basics. Climate change is essentially a result of a warming globe, because of a manmade increase in greenhouse gases. Rising temperatures as in slowly rising temperatures or heat waves can cause mental health issues. More than usual. A heat wave is especially bad for people wi...

Recently, scientists declared that we are now living in the anthropocene, that is, the geological epoch influenced by human activities. One of the most significant ways in which mankind has altered natural earth systems is the invention and use of technology. The other is climate change. Some facts, first of all. a)       Technology by itself, is a benign weapon, it can be used for good or bad. b)       Technology is also a way of life for 21 st century homo sapiens. c)       Technology and climate change are also interlinked. How so? Well think of fracking, construction of oil rigs both in on and off shore wells. These are some of the ways technology has led to climate change. So how can we, as the leading inhabitants of planet Earth use tech to help this planet of ours and save it from dangerous climate change? Let’s see… The IPCC, the UN organization tasked with gathering cli...