A hurricane with wind speeds of more than 140 mph tore into the country of Madagascar on Feb. 17. With wind speeds exceeding those of Hurricane Katrina, Cyclone Ivan has killed 88 people, with more than 150 still missing, and has left an estimated 150,000 people homeless. While not as dramatic or as destructive (yet) has Katrina, Ivan has ripped the northern Madagascar coast apart, destroying thatch houses and leaving a path of chaos in its wake.

The sheer lack of news about this event is what is so troubling. Google News finds only 114 sources relating to Cyclone Ivan with the vast majority consisting of blurbs of only one or two paragraphs. The news coverage that is available has a noticeable lack of consistency. Different reports offer different wind speeds and there is even disparate reporting about where the cyclone made landfall.

Some people might feel that with all the political and economic turmoil going on inside our borders, our lack of attention to small island-nation best known for being the title to a mediocre animated film is understandable. This is a grave and dangerous mindset to hold.

The federal response to Katrina was abysmal, both for its delayed start and then for the darkly comedic mishandling and bumbling nature of the recovery. While the Madasgascar government’s response has been quicker, the tiny nation does not have the resources required to rebuild after such a massive storm. International aid organizations have already begun sending food and water, although shelter and clothing are also sorely needed.

Nearly 30 percent of Madagascar’s rice crop has been destroyed, a problem which promises to have repercussions in the future. The U.S. government has contributed $875,000 to the recovery effort. While I know the old adage about not looking gift horses in the mouth, I still have to question the amount the government gave. While $857,000 is most certainly better than zero dollars, given the precedents set in Iraq for throwing massive sums of money at problems to make them go away, one would think the U.S. government would be more eager to score some international brownie points.

While Cyclone Ivan is not as glamorous as Hurricane Katrina, the lack of media coverage is abhorrent. Madagascar is sometimes called the eighth continent because of its incredibly high number of unique species. Ninety percent of the plants and animals on Madagascar are not found anywhere else in the world. Such a drastic disaster threatens the already precarious nature of Madagascar’s rainforest. Madagascar is already suffering from extensive deforestation, and there is now the worry that the government will allow further destruction to ensure a ready source of income.

While Madagascar is not foremost in the minds of the vast majority of Americans, it represents an important aspect of the environmentalist movement. While it is easy to get worked up about SUVs and incandescent light bulbs in our own country, we need to recognize the global importance of adopting green practices. Madagascar is an island unlike any other in the world in terms of plant and animal diversity. The recent cyclone only promises to create further difficulties to saving what is left of Madagascar’s native rain forest. The solution to preventing Madagascar from selling its forests to farmers and loggers is simple – ensure that Madagascar has the financial wherewithal to rebuild without resorting to the ultimately destructive path of deforestation.

We have an example of what happens when nations are forced to choose between economics and the environment: Haiti. Once a lush tropical paradise, Haiti now has less than 2 percent of its forest cover remaining, as the nation destroyed its forests in a short-sighted attempt to modernize. The deforestation has resulted in increased flooding and mudslides. Madagascar’s situation is not yet as dire as Haiti’s, but we are at a tipping point. We cannot afford to lose these small, ultra-diverse biospheres of life such as Madagascar and Haiti. The lack of news coverage about Cyclone Ivan only ensures that the American people remain unaware and unconcerned about the social and economic plight in Madagascar.

A recent study by the University of Alberta found that it is economically feasible to preserve existing rainforest and to shift toward a more tourist-centered economy rather than the logging economies which so many forested nations tend to use. Maybe I’m just a hippie, but I would much rather spend $3 million to preserve a rainforest-covered island than the $275 million we spend every day in Iraq.

Madagascar is a test. As concerned American citizens, do we allow a nation to suffer and potentially destroy itself in an attempt to rebuild its cyclone-ravaged coastlines? Our media outlets seem to have made the decision for us, barely covering the destruction of Madagascar and the plight of its people. While it is all too easy to sit back and focus on things seemingly more pressing, there may come a day when we think back, longingly, to forests and trees and all things green and growing. Assuming all the bombastic rhetoric and gobs of money make us safer, is it really worth it be safe in a treeless world racked by global climate change?

– Quincy Miller is a senior in English from Alto