Can The Maldives Be Saved?

It was appropriate that on April 22, Earth Day, Ron and I drove to the Landmark Theatres in Hillcrest to see the documentary, Island President. It's about the plight of the Maldives, a country of over 2000 islands, that is struggling to survive. The reason for its possible demise is global warming. The film focused on the efforts of the former prime minister of the Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed, who worked tirelessly prior to the Global Warming Conference in Denmark in 2011, to convince world leaders to help save the tiny nation, by reducing CO2 emissions from 392ppm to 350ppm (parts per million). He felt that if the Maldives went under (the water level is rising at an alarming rate and land is disappearing), other nations would face the same plight.

  We were spellbound for 1hour and 40 minutes as we watched this tiny man deal with his own country and world leaders. He was like a rock star in his own country, admired by many for lifelong struggle for democracy in the Maldives, and for speaking his own mind. Nasheed served 19 months in solitary confinement under the former leader of the Maldives, and to his surprise was released relatively unharmed. Within several years he was the prime minister of this tiny country in the Indian Ocean. He was forced to resign last year due to mounting tensions and political unrest, but he definitely left his mark. His leadership led to positive proposals for his country at the Denmark Global Warming Convention in 2009. For now, the Maldives are alive and well, but it will take a great amount of work to keep them alive. They are trying to become the first country to be carbon neutral. Their goal is to do so by 2020. That is a lofty goal, but one which they intend to achieve. It's the best way to reverse the damage we have done to the planet.

Our intention was to have breakfast at the new hotspot in Hillcrest, Snooze. I wrote about it a few weeks ago. I had eaten at their Boulder location and absolutely loved the food and the menu. Well, aparently everyone else does too. At 1pm there was a one hour wait. We'll try it another time, during the week. It's right across from Landmark Hillcrest theatres.

    Learning how other countries and cultures are dealing with global warming was a great way to celebrate Earth Day. Most of us don't see on a daily basis the damage that has been done to the planet. If we don't deal with the problem we'll be leaving our grandchildren a planet that may not be able to be saved.