Climate change claims its first victim: the entire nation of Kiribati

Darkfrog submitted, created time 6 months 4 weeks (www.nature.com)

Picture Holland with no dams or dykes. The ocean rushes in, right? It will be more of a slow flooding for the island republic of Kiribati. According to experts, even if all greenhouse gas emissions were ceased immediately, the inertia of climate change would keep oceans rising for perhaps a hundred years. Of all Kiribati's thirty-two islands and atolls, none are more than two meters above sea level.

It will take a while, but sooner or later, those 97,000 people will have to find someplace else to live.

Possible silver lining? Look here: "Such policies don’t yet exist, and Parry suggests that it will take an obviously climate-related disaster in a large developed nation, such as a drought in the US Midwest, to prompt such international action."

Remote remote chance that this shared disaster will bring in a new age of international cooperation. Yes, I know, not looking too likely considering our track record, but there's no sense writing it off.

Keywords: climate change global climate change greenhouse-gas emissions Kiribati migrations politics global warming greenhouse effect rising oceans