The people of Kiribati, a small Pacific Island located between Hawaii and Australia, will have to move.
BloombergBusiness reports that the entire country is to be flooded due to climate change and rising oceans and “It won’t be the last.”
Since the time of the industrial revolution, the world’s sea level s have risen about 8”, and this trend continues as sea ice diminishes and the planet warms. It is a problem that confronts oceanside residents world-wide.
From pre-historic times, people have always liked living near water. Whether it be by oceans, lakes or tiny creeks, humans have sought proximity to water not only for its utilitarian values, like sustenance, recreation and transportation, but also because living near water seems to soothe and comfort the human spirit. It’s part of who we are.
However, the combination of living in lowlands and rising water levels has repeatedly been devastating. The east and south coasts of the United States have periodically sustained serious property damage and loss of life from hurricanes. Residents of the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, about the lowest part of the city, suffered horrifically from Hurricane Katrina. After Hurricane Sandy, Time Magazine wrote that “we need to think about what we can do to minimize the number of people and the value of the property that might be in the way of the next storm.”
Though farmland is often most fertile in floodplains, it is also where croplands can be lost for an entire season from severe floods. Notwithstanding, property owners rebuild again and again, sometimes with government help.
Even with the risks of wind, high water, and seemingly exorbitant property insurance premiums, seaside real estate still commands premium prices, reflecting our demand for these places. Adapting to the reality of this ever-increasing risk, the question then is who should pay for residing in lowlands that are bound to flood.
Solutions:
1. The National Flood Insurance Program was developed to help solve this problem for the U.S. Currently it is vulnerable for $1.25 trillion to coastal dwellers but is paid for by all taxpayers.
2. Individuals can move, though doing so is impractical and highly disruptive. But entire communities generally can’t simply pack up and move. Kiribati is unlikely to be replicated by the residents of Miami Beach.
3. Re-establish natural barrier islands. This is being done in coastal Louisiana, but insufficient funding regrettably impedes the needed scale.
4. Take the Dutch approach and build artificial barriers.
5. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
All of us can reduce our individual carbon footprints, but for the most part, solutions 2 through 5 above require community actions and change via political means. Our government must represent us in taking the steps needed to adapt to the realities of flooded lowlands, and it’s up to you, Mr. or Ms. Citizen, to urge your elected representative to make doing so a priority.