With news breaking that a climate deal has been reached in Copenhagen, Oxfam America released the following statement:

The framework unveiled in Copenhagen today pulled us back from the brink, said international organization Oxfam America.

David Waskow, climate change program director for Oxfam America, said:

“This political agreement must be the floor and not the ceiling. We must now urgently get back to the table and finally make the hard decisions needed to deliver a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal.”

“Millions of people in the US and around the world have mobilized for climate action. Their hopes must drive this process.”

“The US and other countries made progress by saying that financing for developing countries to weather climate impacts and adopt low-carbon development should be $100 billion a year. But it is still unclear how this money will be generated and delivered to the most vulnerable people.”

Check out the latest pics (gathered by our blogger-on-the-ground Emily Gertz) of the melting Kenyan herders at the climate talks in Copenhagen. Oxfam commissioned the three-meter high sculptures — of a Maasai man and  woman holding a baby — to highlight the human cost of climate change.

The woman with a baby once had distinct facial features. Photo by Ainhoa Goma/Oxfam International.

Her face has since melted away. Photo by Emily Gertz.

What once were detailed depictions are now shapeless blocks of ice. As they wane away, the sculptures  serve as a powerful reminder to negotiators — who must  move fast during the remainder of this week if they want to help poor communities survive climate change.

Those details are barely visible now. Photo by Emily Gertz.

The warrior once had a detailed staff and necklace. Photo by Ainhoa Goma/Oxfam International

Activists hold a demonstration in support of the South Sea island of Tuvalu as delegates arrive for a meeting at the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen December 9, 2009. REUTERS/Bob Strong, courtesy www.alertnet.org.

When you write for a living, you get kind of obsessed with words: the way they sound when linked together in a sentence; the rhythm of them clanging together in a song; their meanings and various evolutions.

I was thinking about the power of words while reading a story from Mother Jones about the island nation of Tuvalu. The article described how the people from the fourth-smallest country in the world are losing their battle with climate change. Rising seas are swallowing their shores, forcing a fifth of the country’s inhabitants to flee, mostly to nearby New Zealand. They are “climate refugees,” communities forced to flee their homes because of environmental change. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, campaigners dressed as the G20 world leaders took to the streets of Pittsburgh, dressed as — who else in that football-loving town — the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oxfam asked that the G20 leaders protect poor countries, which have been struggling to respond to the global recession, high food prices, and the impacts of climate change.

If you’re an Oxfam supporter, you’re probably a fan of good movies about challenging subjects.  If so, it’s time to get yourself to a theater to see “Crude” a new documentary about oil production in the Amazon. A hit at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the film follows two lawyers — an American and Ecuadorian — and their 16-year-old suit against Chevron, which alleges environmental damages in the northeast Amazon region of Ecuador.

Cancer survivor Maria Garofalo reflected in the stream behind her home in the Ecuadorean Amazon. From the film Crude, directed and produced by Joe Berlinger. Photo Credit: Juan Diego Pérez.

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 “Home is where I want to be. Pick me up and turn me round.”

Those are lyrics from an old Talking Heads song. They’ve been stuck in my head the last few days as my husband, John, and I have been driving around the greater Boston area looking for a new house.  You see, when we bought our 800-square-foot condo four years ago, there were just two of us. But with the arrival of our daughter, Olive, earlier this summer we’ve quickly run out of room.

Now we’re looking for a place twice as big. And we’re debating what’s most important to us. Do we move to the suburbs for the schools? Or to stay in the city for the restaurants and shops? Do we want an old house with character? Or a gut renovation that’s move-in ready?

The more we see, the more confused we get. But yesterday, after looking at yet another place that was great but not quite perfect, I had a thought. No matter what type of building we choose, and no matter what the town or neighborhood, we’ll be happy. We’ll be together. And that’s what matters most.

That realization got me thinking about the many homes I’ve been invited into over the years while traveling for Oxfam. Whether tiny rooms or sprawling complexes, constructed of wood or tinder block, with tin or thatched roofs, they have all been modest by American standards. But each had a family that tended to it with loving care, hanging portraits of ancestors and gods on the walls, sweeping out every bit of dirt, and preparing elaborate meals for guests.

In southern Ethiopia, Loko dadacha built her house, with the help of neighbors. The latest fad in her village of Gutu Dobi has been to paint the outside walls with decorative patterns. Photo by Eva-Lotta Jansson.

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In Thiraimadu camp, Sri Lanka,Yealini, holds her one-year-old baby, Rohith. They stand outside their post-tsunami transitional shelter. Photo by: Howard Davies/Oxfam.

I’ve been thinking a lot about heritage lately. My husband, John, and I are expecting our first child in about a week. John’s a New Englander, who traces his roots back to various European intersections, but not one that he identifies with in particular. I’m from California, the daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants.

Everyone we know is fascinated by the sort of child the two of us would produce; the fact that we’ve decided not to find out the gender just makes it all the more intriguing. Will the baby have my South Asian features – big eyes, dark hair, caramel coloring – or will he or she have my mother-in-law’s trademark heart-shaped face, almond eyes, and long lashes. Could it be the “perfect baby” (someone actually said this to me once) and be a lovely cross of both?

And since it will be a biracial child, how will we make sure he or she has some connection to its roots? Read the rest of this entry »