...“He took office and immediately plunged into the climate debate,” Shenk said. “He’s framing the climate debate as a human rights issue. He very much sees the climate fight, the struggle against climate change, as an extension of his fight for democracy.”
In a quote from the film, Nasheed explains: “When we came to power we thought we won the fight. After twenty years, we thought, ‘Look, OK, we’ll have a happy life.’ But we had our first few cabinet meetings, and most of the pending issues were climate change issues. Weather patterns are changing, and that’s having a very big impact on fisheries. We have lost a lot of the shoreline. Our islands are going to be flooded.”...
North and South Malosmadulu Atolls (click here) are in the Maldives, an island republic in the northern Indian Ocean, southwest of India. The Maldives are made up of a chain of 1,192 small coral islands, which are grouped into clusters of atolls. It has a total area of 298 square kilometers and a population of about 330,000. The capital and largest city is Male, with a population of about 80,000. Arguably the lowest-lying country in the world, the average elevation is just 1 meter above sea level.
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Highest point: unnamed location on
Viligili in the Addu Atholhu 2.4 m
m = meters
2.4 meters = 8.87 feet
The highest point in the Maldives is less than 9 feet above sea level.
It is safe to say with Antarctica showing profound 'melt' these people have a right to be worried.
Demographics of the Maldives,
Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number
in thousands.
Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number
in thousands.
