In early 2009, the Maldivian government proclaimed that their country would be the first in the world to become carbon neutral. The website Roadha.com is helping to realize that goal by becoming the first Maldivian CarbonFree® Partner. After calculating their footprint from energy usage, business travel and commuting, Roadha.com is offsetting its carbon footprint in support of Carbonfund.org’s third-party validated reforestation projects.
The Maldives are poised to take serious action on its carbon footprint. Standing about 7 feet above sea level, the country is dangerously exposed to rising sea levels, with experts predicting the country could be underwater by the end of the century. The BBC reports that the Maldives will build wind and solar renewable energy facilities to power the country’s electricity grid, investing $110 million a year to make the transition. They will also use sugarcane ethanol to meet their motor fuel needs and significantly cut down their carbon footprint.
Among the stranger things I’ve witnessed in the last couple days was a room filled with young people at the Klima Forum last night at Bill McKibben’s 350.org event. Bill actually gave a rousing speech, but the audience was noticeably subdued, as though they were expecting defeat this week.
Even more surprising was the outright anger and disappointment at President Obama, their president. It’s no small axiom that young people swept Mr. Obama into power, through Iowa, the primaries and general election. Yet, at this evening’s main event of young, idealistic activists, when Obama’s name was mentioned, there was not a sound. One might argue at least there were no boo’s, but I can’t see how this is anything but bad news for the young president.
Activists and turnout win elections, and this may be, as McKibben reminded us last night, “the canary in the coal mine” for Mr. Obama’s political future if he can’t figure out how to deal with climate change.
On the flip side, front runner for President of the Universe: the president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed. President Nasheed is the Maldives’ first democratically elected leader and has committed the tiny island archipelago nation to being carbon neutral by 2020. With chants of “3 5 0″ throughout the hall, the president lifted the audience into a real call to action for a real cause, global survival but more personally the Maldives’ survival.
The Maldives government ministers have scheduled a Cabinet meeting at the bottom of the ocean. In an attempt to raise awareness of the acute threat to the low lying country that global warming induced sea level rise poses, the Cabinet meeting will be held 20 feet underwater.
The ministers will wear scuba gear for the gathering off the island of Girifushi — about 20 minutes journey by speed boat from the capital, Male, she said. The ministers will communicate using hand gestures and are now receiving diving lessons… At the meeting, the Cabinet plans to sign a document calling on all countries to cut down their carbon emissions ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December…
The Maldives emitted about 869,000 metric tons of CO2 in 2006 – representing less than 0.1% of total global emissions. But as the lowest lying country in the world at an average height of 7 ft. above sea level, the affects of sea level rise will no doubt impact the small island nation.
Though the impacts on the Maldives are clear and dramatic, a story of similar tragedy can be told for many small or poor nations. A warmer world will raise sea levels, increase heat waves, change growing regions, reduce access to clean water, and increase food scarcity. The worlds poor who have contributed the least to the cause of the problem are going to be the most severely impacted by these changes.
Fight global warming now by supporting communities across the world. Click here to learn how to help today.
