Green Options

A new report by Maplecroft, a world leader in global risk assesment, lists the countries at the greatest and the least risk of climate change problems.

The new study examined 166 countries in total. With climate change, it is hard to guess who will be hit the worst, but here is one scientific attempt at ranking the countries’ vulnerability to climate change.

Haiti’s sorrowful rank as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world has been directly attributed to the degradation of Haiti’s natural environment (less than 1.5% of its original tree cover remains intact) as well as a lack of governance structures, underinvestment in social capital, obstacles to private investment, and a spiraling “poverty trap”.

This week, U.S. President Barack Obama will head to Trinidad and Tobago for the 5th Summit of the Americas. He will meet with leaders from Western Hemisphere Nations and discuss a number of pressing issues such as the worldwide economic crisis, U.S. relations with Cuba, trade, energy, conservation, illegal immigration, poverty, and drugs.

Should we expect anything meaningful to happen on the conservation front as a result of the summit and Obama’s new approach toward international relations?

Recently we’ve discussed how the Project Runway folks are working to make the world a better place. Now, let’s add Nigel Barker (a judge on ANTM) to the list of good guys in showbiz as he is utilizing his stardom to help raise funds to end the hunger crisis in Haiti.

This January 8th from 7:30-10pm, Nigel Barker and the Milk gallery in NYC will present Haiti: Hunger & Hope, which is an exhibition of photos and film taken during the food riots.

The cost to attend is a $25 donation and the goal of the event is to raise funds for Edeyo, an organization working in Haiti to educate and feed the poor children suffering there.