The meek take on the mighty

For those who enjoy a good David-and-Goliath confrontation, it doesn't get much better than this.

In one corner, we have the White House and Exxon; in the other, some of the most powerless people on the face of the Earth — including the Inuit of the Canadian north.

But what makes this mismatched confrontation particularly riveting is what's at stake: nothing less than the future viability of the planet.

Indeed, in one of the strangest twists in world politics today, it seems to have fallen to a group of extremely powerless people in far-flung corners of the globe to carry forward the fight to save the planet from the looming catastrophe of global warming.

By any reasonable measure, global warming is one of the most serious problems the human race faces. Our reckless over-consumption of fossil fuels — particularly oil and coal — is causing the accumulation of heat-trapping “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere, potentially wreaking havoc with the world's climate.

A study on global warming commissioned by the Pentagon — and leaked to the media last February — described scenarios in which rising sea levels leave European cities submerged under water, while other parts of the globe are hit with extremes of heat and cold, typhoons, mega-droughts and famines. “Humanity would revert to its norm of constant battles for diminishing resources,” noted the Pentagon analysis. “Once again, warfare would define human life.”

But while some inside the Pentagon seem to grasp the seriousness of the problem, the Bush administration has sided with the fossil fuel industry, which disputes the scientific evidence on global warming.

In fact, the global warming phenomenon has been verified by thousands of scientists who have participated in lengthy, worldwide scientific reviews conducted by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization. Their findings are accepted by all but a tiny group, led by oil giant Exxon, which has waged a vigorous and well-financed campaign against international efforts to fight global warming.

Throughout the 1990s, Washington was involved in those international efforts to tackle global warming, but that changed abruptly when George W. Bush took office in 2001. Within a few months, Bush announced the U.S. would not ratify Kyoto, the international treaty aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Most of the industrialized world (including Canada) has now ratified Kyoto, which will come into effect next February. This is a tiny step toward solving the global warming problem.

But Washington's continuing refusal to support Kyoto risks jeopardizing even this tiny step, since the U.S. is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Indeed, gas-guzzling Americans are responsible for 25 per cent of worldwide emissions — even though they make up only 5 per cent of the world's population.

Any meaningful plan to tackle global warming has to include the United States.

But, with Bush's re-election, the prospects for bringing the mighty polluter into line seem increasingly dim. Indeed, the world community seems to have largely given up trying.

Enter the powerless people of the world.

Located in particularly vulnerable regions, these people stand to be among the first victims of global warming. The 155,000-strong Inuit of the Arctic, for instance, fear that melting ice will destroy the seal hunt, their traditional means of survival. Similarly, the people of Tuvalu — a teensy, low-lying island in the South Pacific — fear being swamped by rising sea levels.

Together the Inuit and the Tuvaluans, with help from environmental groups, are hoping to convince the Organization of American States that the U.S. is threatening their existence with its cavalier attitude toward global warming.

A declaration from the OAS wouldn't have any enforcement powers, but it could create a basis for future lawsuits, against either the U.S. or corporations like Exxon. The idea would be to model the lawsuits after the highly successful cases brought against the tobacco industry.

It's a bold plan, but, needless to say, the Inuit and the Tuvaluans aren't exactly heavy hitters with deep pockets.

Tuvalu boasts a population of just 11,000 and an annual GDP of $22 million. Its national treasury received a huge boost when the country managed in 2000 to sell the rights to its internet domain name — tv — for $50 million.

But little Tuvalu is not without courage. Two years ago, it threatened to take the U.S. to the International Court of Justice over global warming, even though it relies on Washington for foreign aid.

Certainly, when it comes to standing up to the American empire, the world could learn a thing or two from Tuvalu.

Let's hope that the Inuit and the Tuvaluans have a pretty good slingshot; the future of the planet may depend on it.

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