9/02/2008

Maldives in Danger - Toey and Sara

Global Warming is affecting our world in a greatly negative way every day. Currently, it’s hurting the Maldives the most, which could lead to the death of the entire nation. The Maldives are a 1,200-island nation located on the Indian Ocean. Its current average height above sea level is only 1.5 meters or 59 inches. It is home to 330,000 people. The Maldives was reminded of its vulnerabilities during the disastrous tsunami in December of 2004, nearly four years ago. Most of the nation was underwater for a few minutes. This couldn’t have been a good sign and it’s just recently been confirmed of the thought, now there are very many warning signals to the world that the Maldives is in danger, yet no one is doing much to reduce Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The projected rise of sea levels by the end of this century could mean that the Maldives would become uninhabitable to the human population. To add to the current situation, the Maldivian economy may be devastated when the rising ocean temperatures threaten their famous coral reefs and their two biggest industries: fishing and tourism. However, this would affect much more than a country you may think is not worth caring about so much. Once the Maldives is underwater, bigger and more populated places could be the next targets. Tokyo, Shanghai, New York, Jakarta, and Mumbai are also going to be worried. The world may still pretend that this is no crisis, but they have to start caring to make a change. ISB can also help by doing projects that will help slow down Global Warming and help the environment.

Here is a list of 10 things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of these ideas are at no cost, some other require a little effort or investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!

1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb

2. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner

3. Do not leave appliances on standby (turn them off when not in use)

4. Take a shower instead of a bath, it saves a lot of water

5. Use less hot water because it takes a lot of energy to heat water

6. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer

7. Plant a tree

8. Reuse your shopping bag, bring your own cloth bag

9. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen, frozen foods use 10 times more energy

10. Carpool with your friends to save gas and fuel

Above are some easy ways to help reduce Global Warming but there are many more that are very cost-efficient and every little contribution counts to helping the world become a cleaner and better place to live.

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