In one of the most far reaching consequences of China’s rapid economic acceleration and its somewhat related occupation of Tibet, the world’s largest non-polar glacier reserve is endangered. Dubbed the Third Pole or the Roof of the World, this beautiful and remote resource is greatly endangered.
In a bizarre way, the disastrous glacial melt in Tibet represents a much slower version of the ecological apocalypse envisioned in Roland Emmerich’s 2012. The movie trailer shows a Tibetan monastery in the Himalayas overcome by a tsunami.
Readying to bring the world’s attention to the calamity is Tibet Third Pole, a group consisting of Tibetan, Chinese, and western scientists, development specialists, campaigners, and more than 170 Tibet Support Groups around the world. Third Pole will launch a series of campaigns in the run-up to and during the UN’s climate change conference in Copenhagen on Tibet’s behalf.
One thing is for sure about this year’s Copenhagen conference: More and more stories like the Third Pole’s plight will come to light. Each of our individual actions has very serious and real global impact.