KAMBI YA SIMBA, TANZANIA
—For a young person in this East African village near the Serengeti plains, global warming matters just as keenly as the maize porridge in the daily dinner bowl. The climate seems to be shifting underfoot here, turning every day's weather into a forecast of clear and present danger.
Everyone is a farmer in Kambi ya Simba, subsisting on crops like maize and pigeon peas. Water means life, and fortunes rise and fall with the rain. Villagers are accustomed to yearly fluctuations. "Too much rain," says Shangwe, a young woman of 16, "and seeds wash away. Too little, and soil crumbles in our hands." But recently, the pattern has held steady-every year brings too little rain.
While the industrialized world continues to search for the scientific evidence of global warming, the residents of Kambi ya Simba—like the Arctic natives who see their way of life disappear with the ice—suspect they are seeing its effects up close.
After three years of drought, streambeds are vanishing and crop yields have plunged. "Wet and dry, these have always been our seasons," says Pantaleo Victory, who teaches geography at the village's secondary school. "Short rains in November, long ones in March and April. Now, all our wet seasons seem short."
Of the 200 fountains that supply water to Kambi ya Simba's 5,000 residents, three-quarters ran dry this October. For the children who fetch water on foot for their families, a two-kilometer walk could turn into eight kilometers or more.
Lacking electricity and irrigation, residents of all ages have begun to find simple ways to conserve water. They save up for a piece of gutter, to direct rain from a tin roof into a pail. They plow hilly fields in contours, rather than up and down. They have started a tree nursery, and last year planted 20,000 tree seedlings to regenerate soil.
Students at the village's Awet Secondary School have contributed to these conservation efforts, especially the tree planting. They study global warming as much as they can, in a school where books are scarce, battery-operated radios provide the news, more than 50 students fill a classroom, and donations of maize and beans are part of the required tuition fees. Awet students know the details of the Kyoto Protocol, along with the chemistry and sources of the six gases that cause the "greenhouse effect." They are learning the ways geography and climate intersect around the globe.
These students realize their voices count little on the international stage. "It is my opinion that for industrialized nations like the United States, poor countries like Tanzania or villages like Kambi ya Simba don't really exist,² says Volcus, a fourth-year male student at Awet Secondary. ³Someone told me that if students there looked for us on a map, they wouldn't even know to look in Africa."
But these young people are not deterred. Heavenlight, 17, says she and her classmates believe that "knowledge builds strength."
The impacts of global warming "are felt mostly by the people who are poor and most vulnerable," Bangladesh Ambassador Rafiq Ahmed Khan told the December 2005 U.N. Climate Conference in Montreal, and "only strong political will can show the way." In Kambi ya Simba, every day, young people are summoning that will.
This past September, at the invitation of What Kids Can Do, all 350 students at Awet Secondary School in Kambi ya Simba wrote essays about global warming. Below we present a sample of their responses. (While the students learn English in school, Swahili is their native language.)
In order to reduce the harmful effects of global warming, steps should be taken to
Reduce the amount of waste products incurred by industrial plants that contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. Strict laws should be enforced that cut down on factory emissions of polluted air into the environment. Some examples of harmful pollutants are ethane, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and carbon monoxide. Fissoo Vitalis
Encourage industries to develop technologies that use waste materials as raw materials. This will cut down on harmful emissions and reduce industrial waste. Hayshi Begina
Use alternative sources of energy whenever possible. Alternative energy like hydroelectric power, wind power, and solar power should replace those energy sources like oil and coal that produce toxic gases like sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. Factories should use low-sulfur fuels-high-sulfur materials mix with water vapor and create acid rain that damages the environment. John Bura
Prevent industrialized countries from producing poisonous chemicals like chemical fertilizers that spread carbon monoxide into the environment. Ahito Triphonia
Plant more trees that soak up carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Afforestation and reforestation are the most important ways to reduce the harmful gases in the atmosphere that damage the ozone layer and increase global warming. Firmina Safari
Reduce the toxic gases motor vehicles eject into the atmosphere as exhaust fumes. We should focus research and resources on developing internal combustion engines that don't emit so much exhaust that can destroy the environment. Augustino Kwaslema
Decrease intoxicants emitted by factories and cars. This can be done by using gadgets that convert smoke into vapor and carbon dioxide, which are currently being developed in many industrialized nations. Alternatively, we should try to make hydrogen fuel a more viable option than it is currently-hydrogen does not pollute the environment like oil and coal, but it's difficult to store and distribute. Kundi Kikombe
Reduce the amount of heavy industries in developed countries. The ozone layer is like a heavy blanket above the Earth's atmosphere that plays an important role in minimizing the amount of direct sun light that hits the Earth's surface. The ozone layer can be damaged by gaseous emissions from heavy industries in countries like the US, England, France, and others. Global warming results from industrial development and can be minimized if developed countries work to decrease exhaust from industrial plants. Reginald Aloyce
Reduce the production and testing of nuclear weapons. A nuclear explosion causes great harm to the environment, so we should discourage countries from testing them. Bertha Karatu
Confront global warming worldwide. Global warming affects everyone in the world-its impacts are not confined to certain countries, like industrialized ones. All people throughout the world suffer from the impacts of global warming and a damaged ozone layer. Therefore, countries should work together to confront this problem as a unified movement. War and fighting throughout the world should not prevent countries from understanding that global warming affects everyone equally. Pili Moshi
Educate people about how to conserve the environment, and how important it is to practice conservation. This is the most important means to controlling the spread of global warming. Secondly, governments should work with industries to place filters in their exhaust systems so that fewer toxic chemicals are released into the atmosphere. Joachim Delfine
Use more alternative sources of energy. Only when people put environmental conservation first and work to modify industries so that they don't harm the environment as much will we decrease the affects of global warming. Heavenlight Lawrence
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