Islanders from the Tulun Atoll where forced relocation is presently underway are reporting what some believe is the beginning of the end. Breadfruit trees have been destroyed, the soil isn’t good enough to grow crops. The sea water is eating away at the land.
Tulun Atoll is not alone. Across the Pacific islanders are reporting similar changes as the sea is creeping up. Given that sea level rise is not uniform across the world (forget the bathtub that fills evenly!) it’s not surprising that in some island communities the impacts are becoming more quickly apparent.
And it won’t get better anytime soon. Previous sea level rise projections of around 1m by the end of the 21st century have recently been revised upward as new scientific studies published earlier this year found a doubling of Antarctic ice loss, and satellite based data revealed that the collapse of a large part of Antarctica is now considered unstoppable. The studies suggest that, over time, ice losses in East and West Antarctica “will change the coastline of the world” and may even amount to “global coastal destruction”.
Read more at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/14/island-nations-shouldnt-be-left-to-drown-from-climate-change