29. Tuvalu • The Pacific Ocean

[MrDanbloom]

A Tuvalu activist and artist from Tuvalu now living ovwerseas tells this blog:

"From what I'm aware, a lot of homeland Tuvaluans DO believe that God will take care of their needs. However, in my opinion, I believe action still needs to be taken to get the word out. Life is a balancing act - there needs to be faith but also action. I take the middle-path approach and say that, although faith is good, action is still needed. Again, in my opinion, God helps those who help themselves."

[zoyclem]

It's a nice video but if you believe that humans are responsible for what amounts to earth's natural behavior, you are deluding yourself. Islands have risen and sunk all throughout the planet's history. The presence of man (or lack of) will not change that.

[MishaTalanT]

nice video!

[nigelsenchez]

God made mad or did man made God? It's self evident that the idea arose from our primitive understanding of the world.

[TheJosewales]

GOD LOVES the Oceans, especially The Pacific Ocean, its his Favourite Area on Earth, which means GOD LOVES to do things with it, LIKE WASHING UP WITH IT , because GOD LOVES things to be CLEAN ! ,,and things are getting pretty dirty on Earth,, and GOD does'nt like that one bit,, So GOD is going to be using his cleaning fluid called PACIFIC OCEAN more widely and more often,, Spliting PACIFIC OCEAN in 2 and letting it roll is when it cleans best tho, the WHOLE PLANET PERFECTLY :-)

[999myname999]

@ImagineSanDiego by jogging...lol

[Appoldro]

@ImagineSanDiego Fly in from Fiji.

[miltonfrank]

What will happen to .TV internet address if Tuvalu dissapears?

[Hanalio]

Nice video clip

[MrVIII2]

Niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 

[zildjian127]

sad

[DMZ145]

fuk you its not just a bunch of tree's it more than that bitch..

[Max3vil]

Looks nice.. they had a good run... just move. give it up..

[MrCarrottoppings]

tbh it's a bunch of trees and a pile of play sand, i'm sure noone will miss it :P :S

[renalailama]

@MrCarrottoppings ecxacly no one will miss it when you home and your family disapear and that is for sure..

[MrCarrottoppings]

@renalailama lol why will your family disappear it's not like it's going to sink suddenly without notice i think you'll be able to get off of the island before to much damage is caused :S there isn't really a way of stopping it so you might as well look at the bright side of life and stop thinking about all the shit in life :)

[renalailama]

@MrCarrottoppings man you have no idea about what are you saying,,that everyone will disapear one day i know but say that no one will miss it thats no nice man,you perhaps never been there or never will be there and if you had a chance to be there, you no nada about life but the shit side of life as you mencioned before,that place will desapear one day as you place will too nothing is forever man,i prefer play on a bunch of trees and a pile of sand than play in a concrete like yours.

[thrx149]

Bullshit

[russianpride415]

What solutions? What Actions? Let nature be natural, like birth and death. All things must go some day, and new born the next. Cycle of life.

[2valu4ever]

I don't think anyone actually knows the real affects of these climate changes.. You have to see for yourselves to believe. The water comes from under the island through the cracks in the ground. During the king tide season, much of the lands are covered in water. Infact with these water on land, one can simply get a boat and start pedalling from one house to another.

[mikew7210]

Toodaloo Tuvalu

[Helloween121]

well I'm really kinda freak on tropical islands as tuvalu, marshall islands, seychelles etc. and I think we could prevent their distruction by the nature

[johnj2230]

Dooms day! we get back to the topic are sea levels rising and if so at what rate. If they rise 1 meter as some predict don't worry about the low lying islands most main land countries will loose massive amounts of land. Have you looked at Holland I believe they are below sea level. We are doing what most supposedly educated people do and just "TALK" taking action is to complicated. The people of these inlands need a solution. Rock-walls are stoneage we have advanced materials to do the job now.

[Jetagest]

En tuvalu vive gente , está a nivel del mar, o un poco más abajo , el agua los está alcanzando , algun maremoto o corrientes grandes los podría hundir.

[johnj2230]

TUVALU dose not have to disappear, we have created man made islands already and if governments stopped "TALKING" and 'TOOK ACTION" we can stabilize and rebuild a lot of island paradises under threat as global warming is happening now, not in 10, 20 or 30 years. I have followed the plight of Tuvalu and believe there is an engineered solution to their problem and many other island nations under threat. I have been involved in Shore Line Protection and protecting peoples assets is nothing new.

[arabhorseband]

@johnj2230 ; how do we fund this though, especially if it happens all over the world on a massive scale? Furthermore, there is an aesthetic difference between a natural island and an 'engineered' one--at least for many people. Not only that, how did shoreline protection and other marvels of engineering work in NOLA (New Orleans) during Katrina? I like your optimism, but many of these tiny nations are already economically distressed and w/global warming the world may simply have to triage.

[johnj2230]

arabhorseband; funding an alternative to keep climate change refugees on there island homes is a far cheaper solution than relocation. $1 million provided by the Papua New Guinea Government has been swallowed up by provincial bureaucrats. When Professor's, Scientist and University Institution's estimate climate change refugees will number 50 million - 150 million relocation is an unrealistic move. Funding must be around, Copenhagen cost $130 million,how many islands could that of helped.

[arabhorseband]

That's a good point about keeping refugees on their island homes vs. relocation; however, it's precisely that corruption/bureaucracy which could slow down the process enough to prevent the good work you're talking about from being implemented in time to avert crisis. I appreciate your honest feedback; you obviously know more than I do about specifics, it's just that on a large scale,I don't see the funding coming that easy- perhaps it's me being USA/Canada based. and cc deniers=undue influence.

[johnj2230]

arabhorseband;continued: aesthetic difference 'engineered subterranean wall' minimizes the natural look of coast lines. Marvels of engineering, Katrina tested them, most of the New Orlean region were overtopped by Katrina's storm surge. At NOLA there were breeches in the concrete levees. Out dated design and construction materials have been replaced by innovative materials and advanced technology. Yes optimistic 35 years in the marine environment helps. Triage = trouble pain survival a priority

[arabhorseband]

Can't argue with you there; it's just that failures seem to outnumber successes in certain ways. We've managed to cope thus far, but as things get worse not just regionally and with discrete (separate) instances, but more simultaneous, severe, and catastrophic incidents piled upon one another, I don't think engineering is a complete solution--only part of a comprehensive one. Great points, and thank you for the conversation thus far; I'm benefitting from your experience/knowledge.

[ananiasacts]

@johnj2230, The cost to protect it is probably on the order of millions of dollars per citizen. I believe most of that nations revenue comes from licensing use of their internet domain (.tv) I doubt it brings in enough revenue to fund much. Some nation with a lot of little island's that would suit them needs to sell them a new home for a price they can afford. That's about the only reasonable thing to do in this situation.

[johnj2230]

@ananiasacts No! the cost is nowhere near millions per citizen, not even a million an island. I have studied the problems affecting the island and Global Warming in causing more extensive erosion and bigger king tides. A Gabon basket rock wall which provided reasonable protection for 20+ years is now not capable to hold back greater tides and survivor storms thus saturating food crops with salt water. I have a system to protect the island and save there island heritage. Action not words.

[ananiasacts]

@johnj2230, I don't think it will work no matter what you build around it. Soon after the land is below sea level, regardless of how tall the wall surrounding it is, water will ooze up through cracks in the rock and flood the island. The only solution that might work is to inject something under enough pressure and deeply enough to actually bulge the top of the island upwards. Unless it remains above sea level I'd bet that the island is doomed.

[MetalHeart8787]

Tuvalu looks like a Great place i hope we can svae it. I recenty bought a world Map. & i saw Tuvalu & i was Like where is that?

Yes im an American & can point out almost every country on the map, except Tuvalu.

until now. its so small

[masterofmarth]

SAVE TUVALU!

[CabezaDeRes]

No veo nada en especial. Puede ser cualquier isla del mundo.

[ZGJDJD]

Tuvalu will disappear in no more than 50 years.

[SeitxiS]

what a beautiful place !