Sinking Nations

Sinking Nations

By Rebecca Bessette
     April 21, 2014


      I see the white sandy beach, bright blue, clear water; I can feel the calmness of the quiet ocean, the warm breeze brushing my skin, and the toasty, smooth sand between my toes as I sit with my island breeze drink in my hand slowly cooling me from the inside.  This is the most common picture painted in the mind when someone mentions the Maldives.  However, research shows that seas have been rising steadily since the early 1990's at an average rate of 0.14 inches.  This trend has a strong link to global warming and puts many cities along the New York coast and the entire islands of the Maldives at serious risk.  A sinking island threatens Maldivians and relocation is becoming a serious option for them as well as the coastal residents of New York.  Can the Maldivian lifestyle be salvaged?  What will come of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.?   The residents of the Maldives and homeowners and business owners of the New York coast need our help now, to assist in the saving of their homes.

“Scientific research indicates sea levels worldwide have been rising at a rate of 0.14 inches (3.5 millimeters) per year since the early 1990s” (Sea Level Rise -- National Geographic).  There are two main reasons for sea levels to rise.  The first is thermal expansion.  As water heats up, it expands, so our warming of the oceans over the past few hundred years is causing the water to take up more space.  The second main reason is the melting of the mass ice sheets over Greenland and Antarctica.  A complete melt of the Greenland ice sheet would cause seas to rise up to 24 feet and a complete melt of the Arctic ice sheet would cause seas to rise up to 185 feet.

 Rising seas have severe consequences.  They not only destroy coastal habitats, but they also cause erosion of coastlines and flooding of wetlands.  Higher sea levels make way for more risk of flooding and contamination of agricultural lands.  As a side effect, warmer oceans increase the pH level of the water, which in turn threatens the survival of the coral reefs, which help protect small islands like the Maldives from the raging force of waves at sea.  A higher sea level also means more powerful storm surges during hurricanes and other severe storms.

Destroyed Coral Reefs

 “The lowest lying country in the world,” The Maldives, “is not even built on sand, but on the planet's most endangered ecosystem, coral reefs, the smashed fragments of which comprise every stunning white beach” (Carrington).  The increasing acidity of the oceans and the warmer ocean temperatures are killing the reefs.  Instead of piling money into renewable energy sectors, (because The Maldives is mainly run on diesel power), international investors are piling money into more tourism.  Now, despite the fact that there is little hope that The Maldives will even be able to keep their head above water in the future, each proposed new luxury resort poses serious threats to the fragile coral environment.  The Maldives is more than just a tourist destination.  It has a population of over 400,000 people and they need our support in their fight to survive.

Storm Flooding in Bangladesh

The Maldives and areas along the coast of New York, specifically Long Island, face serious danger in the coming years.  The Maldives are sinking and face serious threats due to flooding.  Around 87% of Maldivians get their water supply from rainwater and groundwater is used during the dry season.  However, “groundwater aquifers on the islands are shallow, and high extraction levels have made them vulnerable to inundation by saltwater” (Sea-Level Rise in the Republic of Maldives | Global Warming Effects).  When saltwater contaminates groundwater, the freshwater supply is destroyed, along with coastal freshwater aquifers and soils.

High tide flooding from Hurricane Sandy

With the increase in severe storms, Long Island is facing serious threats from storm surges.  A woman I interviewed, Lauren Cosgrove, has a beach house on the bay on Long Island Sound.  She said after Sandy hit, her “neighborhood was becoming the bay.”  “There was so much flooding from the storm that the shorelines were merging with driveways.”  It is hard to picture scenarios like that becoming the new normal as sea levels continue to rise.

Sydney Opera House

 Can you imagine a New York without the Statue of Liberty?  A Sydney, Australia without the Sydney Opera House?  Pretty soon, you won’t be imagining it.   Many scientists have warned that “famous global landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, Tower of London and Sydney Opera House will be lost to rising seas” (Vaughan).  Coastal property values will plummet, whole island nations will be lost, and natural beauty won’t be so natural anymore.  “Climate change risks turning the globe's centres of economic growth into Atlantis” (Kemper).

Take Action Now

“We can now imagine a day when storms do not merely damage coastal cities but destroy them” (Kemper).  There have been few solutions proposed as to how to adapt to sea level rise and how to deal with the soon to be destroyed coastal cities.  However, President Nasheed of The Maldives “has revealed that he has embarked on an ambitious campaign to buy up land – in India, Sri Lanka or Australia – on which he will build a New Maldives to replace the old one when it disappears under the waves. This will be achieved by using the country's vast tourism revenues to establish "a sovereign wealth fund" to relocate its people.”  This is one of the few solutions posed for an ever-dire threat.  As President Nasheed said, "If man can walk on the moon, we can unite to defeat our common carbon enemy."

Bibliography

Carrington, Damian. "The Maldives is the extreme test case for climate change action." theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2013/sep/26/maldives-test-case-climate-change-action>.

Clark, Duncan. "Maldives first to go carbon neutral." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 15 Mar. 2009. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/15/maldives-president-nasheed-carbon-neutral>.

Gillis, Justin. "The Flood Next Time." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/science/earth/grappling-with-sea-level-rise-sooner-not-later.html?_r=2>.

Kemper, Alison, and Roger Martin. "New York, London and Mumbai: major cities face risk from sea-level rises." theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/major-cities-sea-level-rises>.

"Maldives cabinet makes a splash." BBC News. BBC, 17 Oct. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8311838.stm>.

Mathias, Christopher. "Rising Sea Levels Threaten New York: 140,000 New Yorkers Face Flooding Risks (INTERACTIVE MAP)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/rising-sea-levels-threate_n_1347333.html>.

McKie, Robin. "Can Mohamed Nasheed save the Maldives – and the rest of the world – from the rising seas?." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/11/mohamed-nasheed-maldives-rising-seas>.

"Sea Level Rise -- National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. <http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/>.

"Sea-Level Rise in the Republic of Maldives | Global Warming Effects." Sea-Level Rise in the Republic of Maldives | Global Warming Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. <http://www.climatehotmap.org/global-warming-locations/republic-of-maldives.html>.

Vaughan, Adam. "Sydney Opera House and Statue of Liberty 'will be lost to sea level rise'." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/05/sydney-opera-house-statue-liberty-sea-level-climate-change-unesco>.