Unusual Environmental Sights and Signs

Picture of Sun set in Swakopmund

As I’m writing this blog, I’m on a travel seminar to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay with a group of our Fall 2011 semester students and some of my colleagues at the Center for Global Education at Augsburg College. Driving between Windhoek and the two coastal towns, I came observe unusual sights along the way and at the coastal towns of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. One is the change in the appearance of the landscape that is now characterized by unusual features. A few years ago, when driving through the Namib desert, one would barely see grass and water, now this are features that characterize the Namib desert terrain. One would ask, is it a blessing in disguise? What other negative/positive effects are out there that we don’t know about?

Swakopmund and Walvis Bay were uncommonly cold given the time of there when one expects a warmer spring. Some Swakopmunders that I spoke with expressed their confusion resulting from unpredictable weather changes they have been experiencing lately. Although people have acknowledged the different patterns of natural life in Swakopmund and Walvis bay, and the effect it has on their lives, they still do not have answers to: how do we adjust to the ever changing climate patterns, how long will it last, can it be forecasted?

Our visit to the coastal towns coincided with a ‘Moving Planet’ worldwide rally that was organized by the 350.org. this campaign was observed in many countries with the aim to get the message, once again, into the ears of governments to bring about legislations that would eventually lead to decreased carbon emissions. During our time at the coastal towns of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, we visited the municipality of Walvis Bay where we had a conversation with an official from the municipality about environmental issues in the town. The official spoke about the ways in which they protect the environment. We were pleased to hear about the strict environmental policies and procedures that companies had to follow in order to start operating in w/bay. He also mentioned about the study about climate change that Walvis Bay is part of. Particularly they are looking at the issue of Rising Ocean levels. This shows that authorities are doing something about climate change, however, the question remains that how much do Namibia contribute to this mess, and who suffers the most? How much say do Namibia has in all this?

-Romanus