Dear Friend and Reader:
What happens when your country drowns? Such a question we’ve never asked, at least not in my lifetime.
But that’s what is posed in this article from Mother Jones about a community of inhabitants from the islands of Tuvalu, the first of the world’s climate refugees.
The rising Pacific has brought sea water to within 16 feet of the highest point of the islands — Mt. Howard, so named by Tuvaluans as a rebuke of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard who refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Twenty-five hundred Tuvaluans have relocated to nearby Auckland, New Zealand. That’s twenty percent of their population. They will be there until conditions improve; meaning their island shores are reclaimed and become completely inhabitable again or, a new country is found to relocate them permanently.
This migration could have been prevented: this tiny island nation raised the alarm of the rising sea threatening to drown them in the 1990s, warning that unless something was done to mitigate global warming elevating the local sea level, Tuvalu would be completely under water by 2050. Over a dozen years later, a representative group of Tuvaluans without a country have immigrated to New Zealand. Given the rise of waters across the planet many more islands and small nations, some with far larger populations, may be expected to migrate to safety in neighboring nations because their own countries are under water.
There are tensions inherent in receiving new immigrants, even controlled numbers of groups of immigrants, regulated by government visa programs. Those tensions feature the worst of our behaviors – isolation, xenophobia, racism — inhospitable environments by host countries; and then loss of cultural identity for the new immigrant community, including problems related to family structures coming unglued under economic pressures and values of the culture and society of their new home.
Now imagine the social and economic impact of a massive forced wholesale migration of entire nations, climate refugees needing places to live, food to eat and livelihoods that even wealthy countries such as the US in this day find hard to provide for our own citizens.
So far the Tuvaluans have had a relatively easy time of it, given they are the world’s first environmental refugees. Their country has enough financial reserves to purchase an island suitable to their needs, though the political wherewhithal to ensure the treaties to purchase and inhabit remains a challenge. They have a safety net. There are other countries equally as vulnerable with far greater populations and far fewer financial resources to mitigate the loss of their homeland. What will happen when their countries drown?
This is a portent of the march for human survival in the 21st century, not from wars or economic deprivation, but from nature’s response to our poor stewardship of the planet we’re on. I leave you with this excerpt from the Mother Jones article which brings the point home.
In fact, our understanding of exactly how global warming will affect people—how many lives will be threatened, and what we could do to avert a succession of humanitarian disasters—remains extremely rudimentary. As Bill Gates has caustically observed, “It is interesting how often the impact of climate change is illustrated by talking about the problems the polar bears will face rather than the much greater number of poor people who will die unless significant investments are made to help them.”
I hope you read it. Inside cautionary tales like Tuvalu lies our own responsibility and possibly, our destiny.
Yours and truly,
Fe Bongolan
San Francisco
LOL!!! with ya Jere!!! I picture what Eric and I long ago visavis email titled something along the lines of “Filling Orifices Around The World”.
Phoenix, as far as the moderator thing.. (in my best guess) Planetwaves is a doorway from the WordPress hub. Once one registers with WordPress they’re in to the hub. Once one comments, it’s like ringing the doorbell to Planetwaves, then Planetwaves gets off the sofa, walks to the door, and says “Come on in!”, “Speak your mind!”. It may take a few moments for Planetwaves to get to the door, depending how comfortable they are but, they’ll get there, and once they open the door, you’re free to come and go as you please!
(Hope that sounds inviting,..) (..Glad you threw down the courage! It’s always a pleasure to have MORE perspectives!)
awordedgewise, Hell yeah! But you know what!? This shit’s gonna go down ALL over the Globe! I’m gonna hop Love-in to Love-in,.. it’s gonna be one gigantic circuit of life-freedom-living! (manifesting, manifesting, manifesting.. Ha, Ha, Ha! I Love to laugh!) One foot in front of the other.
Love,
Jere
Menusha.
I still think that contention about what is causing “global warming” is not the point. What we are doing to respect the sactity of life is.
Geologists studying sun spot activity can bring important news to the table as do mandates regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Certainly we have many other specific ways of living to study, reconsider and modify.
Acceptance of fact that this IS happening is Ground Zero. From then perhaps we can work together from various positions to make better what we can?
Jere – can I come live at your (new coastal love-in formerly Iowa) place?
phoenixrising:
Thanks for your viewpoint. As mentioned before, it may take a cherette (a consortium of various approaches) of climate change proponents and opponents to address the problem. But if there’s a human cost, which there is and now, then shouldn’t something be done about that instead of ignoring the problem or hope it will go away in a few years?
In that I think we agree.
Dear moderator,
I would be interested to know why my prior comment was not posted. I have followed and subscribed to Planet Waves for YEARS and felt like a part of a community. The first time I have the courage to write, I am censored. Ouch! I don’t understand why it is so wrong to bring up another possible contributor to climate change. I am not disagreeing with global warming, but was SINCERELY curious as to whether Eric and others had given thought to climate change also being a part of nature and the mega cycles of the Earth. It does not take away from Fe’s concern about people being displaced. I thought Eric was about openness and it feels like if I’m not totally kissing your global warming theory alone, then I am being outcast. IT feels you guys are giving me the same treatment the Repubs do when others offer an another opinion.
jlo jlo jlo:
You have just hit the motherlode of what I’ve been intending. I’m putting the same energy out there.
Quick blurb.., If you’re on the mainland U.S., it’s time to start thinking a little ahead, and start picking up acreage. (I’m workin’ on the resource accrual aspect right now), with land comes the ability to hook folks up, with food, shelter, health, education, and entertainment.. the havens for an eclectic, open, and enlightened form of society.
Love,
Jere
Thank you Eric and Fe for the great writing as always. I agree with the comments about we must become more green.
But I often wonder (seriously ponder) if the changes in colder as well as warmer weather, could also be sourced to the dance between Mother Earth, Nature and the Cosmos. There is currently no sunspot activity. I am curious if the astrology also supports that part of climate change is driven by the sun and its effect on the Earth’s magnetic field? My degree is in Geology, though it’s not what I do now, and that lends me to view Earth from a broader time perspective, where the climate has changed dramatically even without all the pollution we’ve pump into the atmosphere. Am curious about others thoughts on this matter. If it is so, then we had better start thinking of some creative solutions soon.
When you factor what percentage of the world population lives in a coastal area — about 40% live within 100km of a coast — the impact is enormous.
In fact the Maldives were several feet under water during the 2004 tsunami, a climate event; the entire island-chain country flooded. It is almost certain that inhabitants lesser-known or unknown islands were swept away during that event, without a trace of their history left.
Len:
Thanks. Its now that the accessible becomes the painfully obvious, and there are people still not listening, which is why you and I and Planetwaves do what we do.
Thank you once again, Fe. Your style is so wonderfully accessable. Your subject matter is always vital. Your approach is consistently constructive. What the NY Times aspires to be, you are.
It is indeed important to be aware that real people are urgently in need of relief from preventable disaster. Thank you for your clear voice on this matter.