The Sierra Club and PLAN!TNOW Partner on Storm Readiness Public Service Announcements
The number of natural disasters is on the rise — from around 200 a year between 1987-97, to double that between 2000-2006. Floods are occurring more often, and affecting a larger land area than they did 20 years ago. Large scale disasters — like the 2003 heat wave in Europe and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are also happening with greater frequency.(1) The internationally recognized authority on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) has warned us that the carbon dioxide that's already in the atmosphere will cause the climate to change for the next 40-80 years and that more natural disasters are inevitable.(2)
Video: Through a partnership with PLAN!TNOW, Morgan Freeman discusses climate change and the need to get prepared for big storms and natural disasters for a PSA entitled The School of Big Storms.
Get Prepared
So what can be done to help people and environments cope with the hurricanes and storms that are coming?
People and communities can get prepared. There are steps individuals can take — and decisions that communities can make that will make them safer and less vulnerable. That is why Sierra Club is working to raise awareness of the actions people can take now to prepare for the next disaster and to protect the natural defense system — the wetlands, barrier islands, floodplains and forests — that protects them.
To launch this nationwide effort, Sierra is partnering with PLAN!TNOW — the hurricane and storm-related disaster relief organization led by Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman. Together, with PLAN!TNOW, Sierra Club is distributing a series of Public Service Announcements, designed to encourage people living in hurricane and severe-storm affected areas to act now, before the next big storm, to reduce their risks and save lives and property. The PSAs also urge communities to protect and restore their first line of defense — the environment that serves as a buffer against storm winds and as a sponge to soak up storm waters.
Sources:
(1) World Bank Group. Environment Matters Annual review. "Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction." Maarten Van Aaist. June 2006-July 2007.
(2) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Climate, "Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Summary of Policymakers. An Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change," November 2007. IPCC Mandate.
