Tuvalu, an island close to the equator
of the South Pacific,
is the fourth smallest independent country
with a population of about 10,000.
It is a beautiful island country
made of small and large coral reefs.
Tuvalu is a great place with many fruits.
It is truly beautiful here,
but we are worried of the rising sea level...
But this beautiful island is slowly disappearing
because of the rising sea level.
Two of its nine islands have
already disappeared.
Twenty-five years ago,
this island was full of treees.
Although a small island,
it has many trees on it.
But they all disappeared.
The Tuvalu government declared
the abandonment of the land in 2001.
But these people have nowhere else to go
when they leave their homeland.
If the current trend continues,
Tuvalu will completely sink
in the ocean by around 2060.
This is the cost we are paying
for enjoying a comfortable life on Earth.
Of all the causes of global warming,
90% is due to the emission of carbon dioxide
when burning fossil fuels.
Because of greenhouse gases like carbon,
the Earth’s temperature is rising.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC)
warned in 2007 that
we only have eight years to save the Earth.
Greenhouse gases are important
in keeping the average surface
temperature of the Earth at 15℃.
The problem is that
if they are excessive, the Earth heats up.
Before the industrial revolution,
the accumulated concentration
of carbon dioxide was about 275 ppm.
It has now surpassed 385 ppm.
Experts claim that
if it surpasses 450 ppm,
the Earth’s average temperature
will rise by over 2℃
and many organisms will disappear.
The amount of carbon dioxide emitted
last year was about 33 billion tons,
which is 45% more than
the amount last 1990.
As a result,
the Earth’s temperature continues to rise.
For about 140 years
since the Industrial Revolution,
the average surface temperature
of the Earth rose by about 0.6℃.
If this trend continues,
it will rise by 2-3℃ within 50 years.
