This week’s announcements
🚞 Sign us for our in-person event in Washington DC with Patagonia on October 7th or October 8th
📸 We're also looking for a volunteer photographer for both days of the Patagonia event
Why language access is the key to climate adaptation and resilience
As climate change becomes a more prominent phenomenon in our day-to-day lives, we are facing an ever increasing number of climate disaster events. Within these past few weeks, earthquakes and flooding in Morocco and Libya have shown us how frequently our planet is exposed to these threats; and these are just two of the many thousands.
Yet, in a world of rapid technological advancement where we can predict weather events and geological patterns, we still seem to need to ask ourselves the question: In times of natural disasters, why were we not prepared enough?
In simple terms, communication is something we are not getting right. According to scientific research, educational tools such as language access services, which are currently underdeveloped, can dramatically improve our preparedness for disasters as well as reduce risk of injury and death.
During times of natural disaster, access to alerts and information have helped move a large quantity of people to safety. However, these alerts are limited to one or two languages, often English. As a result, during some real-life disasters, a lack of understanding and knowledge of English made reaction times of some communities and ethnicities slower, leaving them significantly more vulnerable.
A recent example of this was in 2021, during Storm Ida, which swept across much of the east coast, including New York City. Of the dozen NYC residents who died, the majority of them were Asian of descent, who had a limited understanding of English. It is possible they did not understand the meteorological warnings in time.
The benefits of providing language access are not just to mitigate risk, but also as an educational tool for mass cooperation. In the Haiti earthquake of 2010, doctors who flew in to assist with the many injuries were accompanied by volunteers from Translation Without Borders (TWB), which allowed them to teach the local doctors and nurses treatments and therapies in their languages.
To summarize, access to natural disaster information in multiple languages can be useful in joining largely diversified communities, sending out a universally understood message as quickly as possible. This tool can be used in other contexts as well, like sharing climate information in as many languages as possible. This would also provide a space for specialists in multiple domains to join forces and share ideas. This universality in languages is what we strive to achieve here at Climate Cardinals, providing climate information in many languages and translation services for the purpose of education and international cooperation.
From the Ptera community…
Hi folks! My name is Llana Arreza and I am a Filipino-Canadian environmentalist who recently graduated from the University of British Columbia, where I conducted research in fish physiology aimed at optimizing Atlantic salmon aquaculture systems. My dream is to use this knowledge and my passion for marine conservation to facilitate systemic change through policy. I hope to pursue a Juris Doctor degree and address systemic issues in environmentalism through legal reforms and aim to explore how policy shapes sustainability efforts within various industries!
I’m Tatiana Bicalho, a rising junior at Wake Forest University, majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Statistics. I’m the sustainability chair for my Greek chapter, where I focus on reducing clothing waste. Off campus, I’m passionate about sustainable agriculture, spending this summer WWOOFing in Maine, and working at an education-based permaculture farm to introduce young children to nature and instill a love for the environment.
I am Gyanendra Kumar, a professional with more than 10 years of varied experience in consultancy, mentoring, research, education, concrete, and construction. I have proven expertise in sustainability, sustainable product development, green building design and ratings, waste management, and project management.