Blog Action Day: EDF’s Storytelling Strategy
Note: Today is Blog Action Day. More than 9,000 blogs around the world have committed to blogging today about one topic: climate change.
While doing research for my book, I came across Environmental Defense Fund. EDF partners with businesses, governments and communities to find practical environmental solutions.
I originally featured EDF in Stories That Sell because the company weaves storytelling into nearly all of its communications (newsletters, website, grant proposals, annual reports, etc.) in order to put a face on environmental issues.
Today, this blog spotlights exactly how EDF uses story to educate about the impact of climate change on our health:
Hotter Days Mean Unhealthier Air
Until developing asthma at age 12, Los Angeles resident Elizabeth Martin seemed born to be an athlete. She excelled in every sport she tried. "I loved soccer most of all," says Martin. "I was always the fastest person on my team, and I was the top female runner in my school, most of the time beating the boys as well."
Her dreams of a soccer career ended with the diagnosis of asthma, brought on by exercise. Martin took medication, but since most sports are played outside in the warm months, when smog shrouds the city, she soon found herself unable to participate. By age 13, her lung capacity was half what it should have been.
Martin’s story is likely to be shared by increasing numbers of active children–everywhere. Global warming is expected to increase the number of very hot days around the U.S., elevating smog levels to unsafe levels.
According to Dr. John Balmes of the American Lung Association of California, higher smog levels "may cause or exacerbate serious health problems, including damage to lung tissue, reduced lung function, asthma, emphysema, bronchitis and increased hospitalizations for people with cardiac and respiratory illnesses."
Smog forms when sunlight, heat and relatively stagnant air meet up with nitrogen oxides and various volatile organic compounds. Exposure to smog can do serious damage to our lungs and respiratory systems. Inflammation and irritation can cause shortness of breath, throat irritation, chest pains and coughing and lead to asthma attacks, hospital admissions and emergency room visits. These consequences are more severe if people are exposed while being active.
More hot days mean better conditions for creating smog that can trigger asthma and other breathing problems.
"The number of people with asthma in this country has more than doubled over the past 25 years, led by soaring rates in children" says Dr. John Balbus, head of Environmental Defense’s health program. "With climate change worsening smog in some areas and altering pollen levels, future air quality may pose a greater threat to our health, especially those of us with asthma and other lung diseases."
"To this day, I am bound to the indoor gym for any heavy-duty exercise," says Martin, now a college graduate. "I know for a fact these illnesses are related to the horrendous air quality in Los Angeles," Martin says. "I want to raise my children in Los Angeles. I love this city. But I fear that what has happened to me will happen to them."
Learn what you can do to make a difference»
Helping Veronica, and others in the developing world
Like many 50-year-old women today, Veronica has children attending college, while at the same time, she must take care of her own aging parents.
Except Veronica, a seamstress, lives in Kenya, where unemployment is 40 percent.
Visiting a local market in Nairobi, she noted a number of women her age running their own businesses. Motivated, she decided to try it for herself. With a small amount of money from her husband, she rented a stall, and bought a sewing machine and materials to begin. She sews and sells clothing from her stall, and sells them in bulk to others for resale.
The business has taken off, and allows the family to put food on the table.
But sometimes, she is unable to meet her customers' demands due to lack of materials. Previously, she asked customers to pay a deposit to purchase the needed materials, forcing her customers to come up with extra cash before clothing is ready.
Recently, Veronica found assistance through Kiva.org, a nonprofit that facilitates micro-lending for entrepreneurs in the developing world.
Kiva empowers businesses and individuals to loan money in increments as small as $25 directly to entrepreneurs in need around the world.
Kiva is also a great example of the power of stories, putting individual faces on the problem of poverty. You can read entrepreneurs' stories, and see their photos, and then choose which ones you would like to lend to. You can also learn about other lenders supporting the same entrepreneurs.
Started a few years ago, Kiva has lent more than $46 million from more than 347,000 lenders.
Veronica requested an $800 loan and received the total from 24 different Kiva lenders. Now, she's in the process of paying the loan back over the course of a year. Once she pays it back, those lenders are refunded or can choose to loan the money again to another entrepreneur.
It's a powerful and rewarding way to help real people in faraway places.
Note: Kiva.org has had such demand recently, that all requested loans MAY have been funded already when you check the site. But the organization is continuously adding new entrepreneurs through partners in developing countries. You can donate to Kiva directly or check back for new entrepreneurs.
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