If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know how I feel about our current president. You also know I was hoping for the best, and so far that 'hoping for the best' part has not been working out for me. But 10 days ago when the US pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement, I was even more disappointed in this administration. So, a second Trump inspired week was born. This time we put together a three country mini until on countries in danger of disappearing if the sea levels continue to rise.
Before I started this project, I hadn't thought that much about the fact the whole countries could be wiped off the map. I mean, I guess logically I knew islands would end up underwater,but I didn't really think too in depth about it. And that's kind of sad, and very selfishly American of me, because people always talk about how parts of Florida would eventually be underwater. So I thought about it in terms of my home state disappearing years and years from now, but not so much about whole island countries- because again, selfish American.
In my quest to learn about the countries most in danger, I learned that in some countries, we, as American's are likened to terrorists. And that may seem harsh. But it also makes sense. We're one of the biggest contributors to CO2 emissions, yet we have the leader of our country denying that those emissions contribute to global warming. So while the people of Tuvalu literally watch their country sink underwater, we act like we're not a big contributing factor. And that's pretty terrible.
But enough of my political rant (and boy could I go on). To get you to care about a country, you first have to know it exists. (And Tuvalu is the like the Franklin Pierce of countries, in that it is one of the most obscure). We needed to grab the globe for this one. It's a tiny little place (about 13 square miles) about midway between Hawaii and Australia in the heart of the South Pacific Ocean. It is considered to be one of the first countries to disappear entirely. (Tuvalu has actually appeared in the news lately as it is trying to get the rest of the world to listen to their plight).
Tuvalu is one of the smallest, most remote, most low-lying countries on earth. The country is made up of nine islands and it's highest point sits just 15 feet above sea level. In fact, most of the islands surrounding Tuvalu are about 16 feet BELOW sea level. Outside of Vatican City (which doesn't really count), it has the smallest population in the world. The entire nation consists of just under 10,000 people.
Over the last ten years, Tuvulu has lost 15% of their already tiny population, as the islanders face the real fear of being swallowed up by the ocean as sea levels rise. Seventy percent of those left said they will leave if it continues to worsen in the coming years.
It lacks any sort of wow factor, there's no hills or mountain ranges. no rivers or gorges, no city-like destination, no architectural heritage, no spectacular sight seeing opportunities. They have a beach and a runway, and that's about it.
Try finding a landmark for this place, and it is tough. But, the one main road in Funafuti (the capital of Tuvalu) doubles as the airport's runway. With the island's limited space, this paved runway is used as more of a common area for sporting and social activities. Boys and girls often motor bike up and down the tarmac.
So what if a plane flies in, you ask? Well, first of all, they have a siren that alarms so everyone knows to get out of the way. Secondly, there isn't much in the way of aviation traffic here. Fiji Airway is the only flight service to the island and it flies to the island only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. It's one of the most unreliable flight services in the world, though, so they tell you to be prepared to wait a week or more 'beyond your intended departure date' (Fun fact: we looked it up, it isn't cheap- flights will run you at least $1000 from Fiji to Funafuti).
It seems like a country this small would be really very poor. But, Tuvalu does alright, simply because their national internet domain ends in .tv and the country earns millions by selling web addresses with the super recognizable ending.
There's not much to do on the island besides hit the beaches and ride up and down the tarmac, but they do play a game called 'Te Ano' which translates simply to 'the ball'. The national game is kind of like volleyball without a net, but there's one person who is allowed to catch the ball instead of just hitting it.
Fresh food on the island is one of two things: either the fish they catch or coconut. Tuvalu is dealing with an abundance of salt water and poor soil, so coconuts is the only thing they can really grow. So they make the best of a difficult situation by using those coconut trees for everything. The husks make brushes, ropes and mattresses. The flesh is used for oil, milk and candy. The leaves are woven into baskets. The trunks are hallowed out and used as canoes or made into furniture. Even the roots can be used as a mouthwash, apparently. Besides the poor soil being a problem for growing food, the pulaka pits they use cool their food is being over run with salt water.
So looking for something for our meal was a little difficult.
At first I read that Tuvaluan's eat 'Coconut Crab', and I was like 'geez, I like Coconut shrimp that sounds good', but upon further research I realized that 'Coconut Crab' is actually a type of crab, and it's kind of like a hermit crab. So, um, no.
But since WWII, Tuvalu has relied on a different source for food: canned food. American's actually brought the stuff with them when they were stationed on the island, and it's become a staple of the diet ever since. So, in solidarity with a country that has very limited ability to grow anything we had a canned food lunch. They are particularly fond of which I just can't do- but I could stomach corned beef has, so there's that. (The boys pleaded with me to add SpaghettiOs and Chef Boyardee to the mix.)
There's not really 'spoons up' to give on this meal, because well, it's canned food. And canned food, is well, canned food.
It did make us all grateful we have access to have fresh food.
The boys made their postcards.
Calib's is an aerial view of the runway.
Peyton's plane announces it is bringing canned food with it.
Hayden's featured the Tuvaluan legend of the 'house under the sea'. Back in the 80's a couple of divers found evidence of human life from thousands of years ago. It showed that a gigantic rise in sea levels had been responsible for their demise.
Tuvalu is those orange dots way out to the north east of Vanuatu, appropriately colored in the 'hazard' color nailpolish.
That's 93 down, an even 100 more to go! (Last time in the triple digits---- wooo whooo!)
Next Up: Maldives
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