The thousands of islands in the global south have been treated as toys by the western “civilizers.” Though they are responsible for less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions, today their voices are not part of the conversation on dealing with the climate change which most severely and immediately threatens them. In her upcoming book Sea Change: An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean, author professor Christina Gerhardt alerts the rest of us to the need for island people to have a seat at the world table to save the future of our islands and coastal continental cities and prevent more disasters.