Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The opposite of polar, but related

Tuvalu, a string of atolls in the Pacific, knows a thing or two about climate change. Its highest ground sits just 4.5 meters above sea level. And as sea level climbs, the islands are shrinking.
Crops are getting hit more and more by ocean salt water. Real estate is disappearing.
So the folks there are hoping to shame more industrialized countries into cutting back on CO2 emissions -- in hope of slowing down climate change -- by cutting their own carbon dioxide output down to zero by 2020.
Other random Tuvalu facts: Tuvalu has a bad problem with exotic rats. It's been largely mined out and its inhabitants get most of their income from people who work abroad and send back remittances. One of its greatest financial assets is the power to sell .tv domain names to television web sites (don't discount the value of an alphabetical coincidence).