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Africa: Bearing the Burden of Climate Change

Previously "Climate Change in Africa: Sources, Impacts..."

Join Dr. Isidore Udoh, Professor at DePaul and Northeastern Illinois, as he shares his experience growing up in the oil-rich Niger Delta, and how that connects to environmental issues in Africa.

Part of the Climate Resilient Communities Series. 

Scientists have identified Africa as ‘the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,’ due to current and predicted temperature increases. Across Africa, the impacts of climate change, which include droughts and floods, have caused serious challenges to human development and public health.

Burning gas flares turning night into day, oil spills polluting the soil, acid rain, dead rivers… The Niger Delta, once a fertile and prosperous land is now one of the most polluted places on Earth.

In this eye-opening talk, Dr. Udoh will share his story growing up in Nigeria in the 1970’s, providing us with much needed context to understand the greater issue at hand: Climate Change and how it is affecting Africa’s economy, its land, and its people.

We will learn about the geopolitical roots behind the ongoing environmental issues, as well as about the profound social and economical consequences at the local level. In the end, Dr. Udoh will help us connect the stark reality around the Niger Delta to our local issues, and he will give us some ideas about how we can make a difference in either side of the world.  

Using his story and the film "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" as a baseline, Dr. Isidore Udoh will discuss some of the primary causes of climate change in Africa, including the role of natural resource mining such as oil and natural gas extraction, and its social, economic and environmental impact. He will also draw parallelisms with environmental justice issues in the U.S., and will provide some ideas that can guide policies and programs to more effectively preempt and lessen the impacts of climate change in this continent and around the world.

Dr. Isidore Udoh is Associate Professor of Public Health in the Northeastern Illinois University’s Public Health Program. He also teaches as Adjunct Professor in DePaul University’s Environmental Science Department and the Master of Public Health program at DePaul.

The film can be viewed on Netflix.

Please contact becheverria@cityofevanston.org if you want access to the film.

You can watch the film using Netflix Party. This platform offers an interactive way to watch a film on Netflix. Each participant must have a Netflix account, and there’s a limit of 50 people per party. Watch the film and interact with your virtual party. 

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