Global warming could cause a lot of islands to be covered by the rising ocean. But what do you do if that island is your country and home? President Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed of the Maldives has an answer: move your country.
On Monday, Nasheed told The Guardian that he would start setting aside some cash to buy a new homeland if he loses his to global warming. The money would come from the country’s tourism industry, which brings in a billion dollars annually, and would go into a sovereign wealth fund, reports Australia’s Age.com.
Australia is on the shortlist of possible real estate. So is India and Sri Lanka because they are like the Maldives culturally.
While out there, this may be the only reasonable idea for the island country that doesn’t have the political backing to have much say in international global warming policy. The other option, according to the old Maldives president, is to build a wall around the island. But apparently that’s more expensive than relocating an entire country.
This is most definitely an adaptation strategy - the Maldives are looking beyond merely stopping carbon emissions. But small countries may not have any choice anymore.
Is it time for drastic action like this? Or will this drastic action put a stop to mitigation techniques because politicians will just look for the easy way out (if moving a homeland can be considered the easy way!)?
Mike Hilliard is no ordinary gardener. He’s the Managing Director of his own property development firm and an environmental architect. His banana plants are the variety musa japonica, and they’ve been living in the solar room which enriches the oxygen in the Hilliard family home, Tranquility, often described as the most energy-efficient house in the world. It has total energy costs of just £150 ($300) per year.
It wasn’t just the economy on voters minds this election, or perhaps people realize that energy and economy go hand in hand.
In a nationwide poll conducted by Lake Research Partners for the Sierra Club on Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th , 50% of voters said that energy issues where “personally important in deciding for whom to vote for President” this year.
62% said they remembered hearing at least something about energy issues and global warming from the rival campaigns. After all, who can forget the GOP mantra Drill, baby, drill? That mantra may have been a big hit in the red-meat-eating frenzy of the Republican convention, but it didn’t carry as well as the McCain campaign might have hoped. Based on what voters heard, 49% felt that Obama has a better plan for investing in clean energy and creating new jobs, with 35% for McCain.
Voters understood that there was a real choice between the two candidates in terms of energy policy, with 82% saying there was at least some difference, with 43% seeing a significant difference.
Britain’s eco-towns have a number of ‘firsts’ to encourage their creation: they will be the first new towns built for more than forty years, they will be the first designed for sustainability (low and zero carbon technologies, recycling waste and water, public transport) and they be the first to meet two targets: containing 30-50% social housing and consisting together of 3 million new homes to be built by 2020. Read the rest of this entry »
Newsweek has released a new, intriguing article in their “Secrets of the 2008 Campaign” series.
Among the juicy tidbits is a pre-debate quote from Barack Obama about the challenge of solving environmental problems.
The package of secret tales includes stories about how both campaigns had their computer systems hacked, how Sarah Palin walked into a briefing in only a towel, and also has some worrisome anecdotes about increased threats of violence against the Obama family.
The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for them during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying, “I don’t consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, ‘You know, this is a stupid question, but let me … answer it.’ So when Brian Williams is asking me about what’s a personal thing that you’ve done [that's green], and I say, you know, ‘Well, I planted a bunch of trees.’ And he says, ‘I’m talking about personal.’ What I’m thinking in my head is, ‘Well, the truth is, Brian, we can’t solve global warming because I f—ing changed light bulbs in my house. It’s because of something collective’.”
To read Newsweek’s article that is full of great conversation fodder, click here.
If you haven’t made up your mind who to vote for in tomorrow’s presidential election, I’m not sure that what I am about to tell you will help — but it just might. Both candidates told the web site sciencedebate2008 that they accept the scientific agreement that greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels are changing the Earth’s climate. And both candidates have said they want to cap emissions produced by the burning of those fossil fuels.
But only Barack Obama has said he would regulate CO2 as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Read the rest of this entry »
In an open letter (pdf), the Laureates cite the politicization of science under the Bush administration, particularly in the fields of heath and climate, saying that “vital parts of our country’s scientific enterprise have been damaged by stagnant or declining federal support,” adding that through an advisory process “distorted by political considerations” America’s “once dominant position in the scientific world has been shaken and our prosperity has been placed at risk.”
Despite John McCain’s claim that he is the true agent of change for all that has gone wrong under George Bush, both he and his remarkably incurious and misinformed (at best) running mate show how they plan to continue Bush’s appalling lack of regard for science; combining an inexcusable ignorance of the importance of basic scientific research, with the morally bereft penchant for using science as yet another divisive wedge to promulgate their politics of intolerance, fear, and derision - aiming straight at the lowest common denominator in the body politic. Read the rest of this entry »
Spoofing on the James Bond007 brand of spy thrillers, Greenpeace has just launched a new campaign called “Coalfinger,” aimed at stopping the construction of any new coal-fired power plants.
According to the saga, Coalfinger plans to cover the world in coal-fired power stations and destroy the climate, but the hero, Graverson Green is set upon stopping the super-villain with the help of his assistant Katrina Hurkane. Watch it:
“Although this is an animation, it greatly relates to the world we live in today. The use of coal for energy is having an incredibly negative effect on the climate, and like Coalfinger, many energy companies around the world are forging ahead with plans for new coal-fired power stations despite the evidence of their impact. Green, on the other hand, reminds us that we must work together to stop dirty coal plants and fight for clean and renewable energy.
On Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Barack Obama pledged to work with Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, on the issue of Global Warming no matter who wins the White House on Tuesday.
During this race for the U.S. presidency, many a candidate noted their ability to reach across that proverbial aisle, truly defying party lines. And while I greatly respect that ideal, I questioned its reality. Read the rest of this entry »
EPA officials have been working on a fast tract to meet a Saturday deadline for a new rule that would weaken pollution regulations for power plants, allowing them to increase emissions without adding new controls, according to reports.
In essence, the Bush administration’s proposal would open a loophole and allow power plants to upgrade without installing costly new air pollution equipment. Read the rest of this entry »
Red, Green and Blue brings together voices from across the political and ideological spectrums to discuss and debate critical environmental issues and current events.
Global warming could cause a lot of islands to be covered by the rising ocean. But what do you do if that island is your country and home? President Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed of the Maldives has an answer: move your country.
