Island nation of Kiribati plans mass relocation due to climate change

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Island nation of Kiribati plans mass relocation due to climate change

A serene beach in Kiribati, which may soon vanish beneath the waves due to rising ocean levels. Screenshot via YouTube.

Rising sea levels created by the melting of Earth’s polar ice caps and glaciers pose such a threat to the low-lying Pacific island nation of Kiribati that its leader said this week they were in talks to purchase land in neighboring Fiji for a mass relocation of its citizens.

Kiribati President Anote Tong said that they were specifically eyeing land on the neighboring nation’s second largest island, Vanua Levu, according to published reports. Tong added that the mass migration was “our last resort” after a number of its tropical atolls vanished beneath the waves. None of the nation’s islands sit higher than two meters above sea level.

Read the full story here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/08/island-nation-of-kiribati-plans-mass-relocation-due-to-climate-change/

Sweet breezes,

Dan

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