Carteret Islands

The people of the Carteret Islands are about to make history. They will not be the first people to lose their homes because of global warming. Rising seas, expanding deserts and changing weather have already displaced many, possibly millions of people. But the people of the Carterets are unique, as they will be the first to see their atoll, 6 small islands 100 km form Bougainville, completely submerged. They will begin to desert their islands in early 2007.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Global
• Warming

[goat2727]

The quality of this video sucks.

[Ikke999]

In the Solomon Islands are the Carteret islands. There, Google Earth shows a Greenpeace marker saying: "the low-lying Carteret Islands are already feeling the effects of sea level rise". It is accompanied by a tear-jerker video about the plight of the population. Greenpeace does not mention that these islands are on the edge of the Ontong Java Plateau, an unstable area of volcanic origin. Why no sea level rises in Tuvalu, while the Carterets are experiencing fast rises.

Who is dishonest?

[jdhatl]

Actually the islands in Dubai that were supposed to be "The World" have been hard hit by the world wide real estate recession.

[Marte1618]

It's obvious by the look of the place they are living the high life---NOT.

Let me guess...Global warming is just god huggin' us closer? The ocean isn't rising? Go buy some beach front property, anywhere in the world and get back to us in a few years and let us know how that's working for you.

Adopt a couple of polar bears too, the non-global warming is already causing declining population because there is so much open water where there should be ice.

How long can you tread water?

[ctapahonso]

It's interesting to note this natural paradise is sinking, yet in Dubai they have built a "paradise" island resort. It makes me a little sick.

[nancylaplaca]

I am ashamed that my country has done most of the damage but is still in denial that global warming exists. We don't want to look at ourselves.

[DRSPIRAL]

Very poor comment to say that this is not a result of global warming unless otherwise.

[brriggs25]

The submergence of these islands could be the result of any number of reasons: global warming, the destruction of outlying protective reefs, the movement of tectonic plates, etc. The issue at hand that we must remain cognizant of, however, is that the world as we've known it is changing...for the worse. How we choose to respond to these changes will well determine if our better days lie ahead, or will sadly remain in our past.

[ut000bs]

The only place in the world where global warming has caused the ocean to rise over a meter in years. Not even on Bougainville, a few kilometers away, has the ocean risen this much.

Chalk this one up to media sensationalism. ABC news did a story on this atoll 13 March 2007 and blamed it all on rising oceans while the reporter stood in 3-4 feet of water on what was once the site of a house. A tiny little spot surrounded by other atolls and islands which haven't seen this... right.

[shanusk]

This is not caused by global warming. The ocean is not rising, the land is eroding. Did any of these people mention how they have been using dynamite to catch fish and have blown two huge chunks out of the reefs that otherwise protected them from the ocean and erosion? Don't blame the global warming boogie monster, blame the laziness and greed of the islanders who ruined their own paradise.