The Maldives, a string of islands off the coast of India whose highest point above sea level is eight feet, may be the first nation to drown. In Alaska, entire towns have begun to shift in the loosening permafrost.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the vulnerability of certain regions to climate change and rising sea levels.
Michael Specter's quote emphasizes the alarming reality of climate change, focusing on the Maldives, a low-lying nation that could be submerged due to rising sea levels. It draws attention to the broader consequences of global warming, illustrated by the shifting towns in Alaska that face instability from thawing permafrost, urging a reflection on the urgent need for environmental action.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about environmental awareness and the impact of climate change on vulnerable nations.
If there is anything more frightening than the threat of global nuclear war, it is the certainty that humans not only stand on the verge of producing new life forms but may soon be able to tinker with them as if they were vintage convertibles or bonsai trees.
Humanity has nearly suffocated the globe with carbon dioxide, yet nuclear power plants that produce no such emissions are so mired in objections and obstruction that, despite renewed interest on every continent, it is unlikely another will be built in the United States.
Be sceptical, ask questions, demand proof. Demand evidence. Don't take anything for granted. But here's the thing: When you get proof, you need to accept the proof. And we're not that good at doing that.
There are people who could watch a hurricane like Sandy blow out of the Atlantic every other day and blame it on anything but human activity. They are like those who, having been diagnosed with diabetes, eat donuts for breakfast. There's not much to do about them.
Why do people refuse to vaccinate their children against measles or whooping cough? In many cases, because they have never seen measles and have no idea what it might do.
Tree at my window, window tree, My sash is lowered when night comes on; But let there never be curtain drawn Between you and me.
Hold out your hands to feel the luxury of the sunbeams.
Concrete is heavy; iron is hard - but the grass will prevail.
There are so many colors in the rainbow_x000D_ So many colors in the morning sun_x000D_ So many colors in the flower and I see every one.
The carbon emissions from tar shale and tar sands would initiate a continual unfolding of climate disasters over the course of this century. We would be miserable stewards of creation. We would rob our own children and grandchildren.
When you're on one of the Caribbean islands, sometimes it's hard to picture how they fit in with the rest, but when you see them all joined together like a necklace from space, you see the natural geographic connectedness of them all.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.