Preview - Tuvalu: Keeping Heads Above Water

Tuvalu: Keeping Heads Above Water

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Tuvalu: Keeping Heads Above Water (25:00)

Item# 40372
©2008

Scientists expect the island nation of Tuvalu to disappear into the sea during the next few decades. If that is true, what will become of the country’s citizens and its unique South Pacific culture? Should the traumatic task of evacuation begin now, and if so, to where and under what circumstances? This program grapples with those questions by interviewing key figures in Tuvalu’s government and populace while presenting compelling scenes of the ongoing environmental calamity. Centered on the main island of Funafuti, the film explores the growing significance of climate change issues in Tuvaluan political life and examines plant species that are dying off due to encroaching sea water—leading to more land erosion. (Portions in other languages with English subtitles, 25 minutes)

Segments in this Video - (7)

1. Island Nation of Tuvalu (04:25)

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Under the rising tides of the Pacific Ocean, the island nation of Tuvalu seems destined to disappear in a few decades. The laid-back culture is threatened with extinction, and the people blame America and Australia for global warming.

2. Rising Seawater Threatens Life (03:08)

On Funafuti, the largest of the Tuvalu atoll, population density is high. Seawater surges from underneath the ground and fills the streets during high tide and storms. Saltwater contaminates a traditional food plant.

3. Climate Change and Destruction of Flora (03:41)

The women of Tuvalu speak out about climate change and rising water levels, that are destroying trees along the coasts. Trees are vital for the survival of the people, who have built a rock wall and planted more trees to keep the sea at bay.

4. Destruction of an Island (03:04)

A key figure in Tuvalu's government expresses his concern about the vanishing islands. A sudden cyclone destroys the trees on one of Tuvalu's islands. The sand erodes and leaves only rocks as a record of the island's existence.

5. Damage to Coral Reefs (03:21)

Rising water temperatures threaten coral reefs containing a vast diversity of living creatures. The damage is too great for the reef to support marine life. Tuvaluans believe there will be no flood to destroy them, relying on God's promise to Noah.

6. Tuvalu: Loss of National Identity (04:29)

A group of young Tuvaluans is sent to New Zealand to provide labor on farms and in orchards. New Zealand offers 75 permanent residencies each year to the island people. Is this the beginning of the end of Tuvalu?

7. Tuvalu: A Nation Doomed by Global Warming (02:02)

Tuvaluans cling to hope that some nation somewhere will throw them a lifeline. Australia closes its borders to the "doomed" people of Tuvalu. Many experts believe that an orderly, swift evacuation is the only solution.