The Indonesian government is planning a massive relocation of their island-dwelling population.
This move is based on reports by environmental experts and government officials that around 2,000 islands will be submerged by the year 2040, possibly 2030. These issues were addressed and confirmed at the International Round-Table Meeting of the World Ocean Conference (WCO) last week.
Now the obvious question: who's to blame?
Most directly, countries like the U.S., China and Japan are the ones responsible for a devastating majority of environmental pollution that has caused the impact of global warming to be alarmingly sped up.
As such, a third-world country must, once again, plan for environmental devastation while rich businesses continue to capitalize on cheap labor and free trade.
But wait a minute - global warming is not capitalistic. It is, in fact, very socialist. Expect Mother Nature to deal its destruction equally across the world sooner, rather than later.
Japan, after all, is a country made up of thousands of islands. Florida and California continue to sink closer to sea level. As for New Orleans, forget about the levees; in our lifetimes they'll be the guarding walls of a New-Age Atlantis.
For all those that were planning to avoid the environmental issue entirely, or to merely talk-the-talk and not walk-the-walk until you die and leave your grandkids to handle the problem, it looks like your demise may, in fact, be global warming related.
After all, we are seeing the effects of global warming now - who says it won't lead to early deaths from cancer, lung disease or drowning en masse?
This is really happening and, at the end of the day, who's to blame for this?
While Americans may not care enough about Indonesians losing their homes to do something about it, environmental displacement does not know the difference between the third world and the first world.
The size of your wallet will not help you float when the water rises. As a matter of fact, the heavier it is, the faster you will sink.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
