Message from the President of The Republic of Kiribati, H. E. Teburoro Tito, MP It is a pity that the KYOTO Conference had not succeeded to make all the delegates speak with one voice on the defense for the mother planet as everyone was too busy narrowly defending his or her national boundary, GDP, employment statistics, etc., rather than talking about the real dangers facing the PLANET EARTH and how it could be saved. It is like the analogy of the little greedy piglets fighting day after day over their share of the breast milk from their ill mother. Instead of co-operating how they could all help save their unwell mother they were all carried away fighting for their share and making their mother even more ill until all of a sudden they found out that they had lost their mother and there was no more milk to live on. May I urge all my fellow-humans to think and act together about the fate our mother earth as she is already being injured and hurt by our unlimited wants and demands upon her and she is silently calling us to stop fighting over our selfish interests and to help her back to recovery. All she is asking from each one of us is to care for her the way she cares for us and to learn to live in harmony with her.

The South Pacific nations requested a 60% cut in the production of greenhouse gases by 2010. But the Kyoto conference (U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto) concluded only a 6% reduction-request for the USA and a 5% reduction-request for Japan, which are far from the original figure. Moreover, those numbers are not legally binding, they are just aims. What we learned from the Kyoto conference is that it is extremely difficult to reach concessions among politicians, as well as to have cooperation and sincerity toward the protection of the environment among endlessly expanding organizations. It does not mean that each one of us can give up. If we do, 50 years later, we may see Japan facing a crisis and the southern islands under water. What each one of us can do now is to try to cut down the emissions of greenhouse gases in our daily lives. It is not difficult at all, and every bit helps. This is a waste ! Keep this thought in mind. Then you can help. Some say that it is nonsense that we take today's standard of living back to the past just on behalf of the protection of the environment. But saving energy does not greatly affect your living standards. Is wasting energy and living in luxury a highly civilized life? Don't you think that it is rather more civilized to think about the next generation and the future of the earth and to act accordingly? And moreover, saving energy helps your familyﾕs budget, too. Times are bad now, so we must remember “this is a waste!” and act now in order to make proper remedies or forget about the future. Things you can do: Turn off lights in rooms nobody is in. When you are not watching TV, turn it off. Also when you turn it off, use its main switch and not just the remote control. Use the timer on your air-conditioner when you go to bed. Turn off your car engine when not moving. Some people are seen taking naps in cars with the air-conditioners on. Donﾕt do it! Aren't these steps easy? Act right now. << BACK << Message from the President of The Republic of Kiribati is quoted from the book, Oh! My Motherland Is Sinking into the Sea by Yoshikichi Sukeyasu.

Merry Christmas from Christmas Island is produced and sold by Mibunri Design Institute; Site Communication from 1999 for the purpose of educating more and more people to the damaging conditions brought on by the rising sea level due to global warming. Therefore a part of the sales is donated to the governments of these islands. Copyright 1999〜 MIBUNRI Design Institute. all rights reserved.