Tarawa, the capital island, is home to half of Kiribati’s population, or some 50,000 people.  Of this number, 4000 live on North Tarawa and the
rest reside on  South Tarawa, with over 36,000 living on Betio islet alone.  Finding a native South Tarawan is difficult as most of its residents are
outer-island transplants.  Tarawa’s “urban” draw is the only paved road in the country, a diesel power plant, and running water as well as the
opportunity for employment.  These basic necessities by global North standards are luxuries unique to Tarawa in Kiribati.

Anote Tong, Kiribati’s President, acknowledges that the differences between Tarawa and the outer islands will necessitate a two-pronged
approach to global warming.  Whereas outer islanders can move their homes inland to escape rising waters, Tarawa is so overpopulated that the
families on the edge have nowhere else to go.  While Tarawa bears the brunt of the country’s problems, it also has the only means to create
a solution: people who are knowledgeable about global warming and the resources to address it.

Tarawa is a case study in the consequences of under-controlled development.  Miles of causeway are altering ocean currents in ways that are
seen but not understood.  For example, changing currents have transformed the islet of Bikeman in the mouth of Tarawa’s lagoon from a lush
picnic island to a barren strip of sand over the last decade.  Western environmental groups have blamed the islet’s destruction on global warming,
but locals fault the causeway.  This discrepancy is evidence that climate change does not happen in a vacuum.  In Tarawa, the problem of
overpopulation and the demandsit places on the government (i.e. needing causeways), strains the island’s resources.  The government is forced
to choose between addressing the issues of the day – sanitation, healthcare and education – and the issue of global warming.