A nation of nine low-lying islands in the south Pacific, Tuvalu is one of the world's first countries to use oceans to provide for nearly all of its drinking water. When rising sea levels turned Tuvalu's wells brackish, the government installed desalinization plants to make seawater potable. Enele Sopoaga, Tuvalu's ambassador to the United States, says his nation is a victim of global warming:

There is already loss of land, fresh water in the ground is getting more salty, food crops are dying, coral reefs are dying, there is increased tensity in natural disasters: cyclones, hurricanes... and then there is also increasings moving away from the islands because they are scared something terrible might happen.

Sopoaga predicts rising sea levels may submerge the world's fourth smallest nation within 50 years. Such effects of global warming have prompted Tuvalu to call for larger nations to limit their use of nonrenewable, polluting energy sources. And why Sopoago praised the 150 Eastern University students who've donated money to purchase wind energy for the school.

I am sure that project will contribute a lot to the global efforts to address global warming. Not only that but it will also save a lot of lives on this vulnerable planet of ours.

The student group, Faithful Peace, also wants to tack a fifteen dollar fee onto tuition to power all the dorms with wind. More information's available on the web at Greenworks.tv. I'm Rachel Buchman.





The Environmental Reporter is a partnership of GreenWorks.tv and WHYY Radio, which makes all reports available to public radio stations throughout Pennsylvania.