A new study produced by researchers at the University of Auckland concludes that forecasts about the impact of climate change on some low-lying islands have failed to take into account key factors and thus have overstated the danger posed to inhabitants. The most “counterintuitive” finding in the study: the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu — the poster child of “sinking” island fears — is not only not shrinking, it’s actually growing in size.
The study, highlighted by Phys.org, “examined changes in the geography of Tuvalu’s nine atolls and 101 reef islands between 1971 and 2014, using aerial photographs and satellite imagery.” Over that period, “eight of the atolls and almost three-quarters of the islands grew.”
In total, rather than shrinking in land mass, Tuvalu’s total land area increased by 2.9%. This increase is particularly “counterintuitive” because the area in which Tuvalu is located is supposed to have suffered a rise in sea levels that are “twice the global average.”
“We tend to think of Pacific atolls as static landforms that will simply be inundated as sea levels rise, but there is growing evidence these islands are geologically dynamic and are constantly changing,” said co-author Paul Kench, Head of the School of Environment at the University of Auckland. “The study findings may seem counter-intuitive, given that (the) sea level has been rising in the region over the past half century, but the dominant mode of change over that time on Tuvalu has been expansion, not erosion.”- READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]The New York Times reports that some would-be parents are actively avoiding having children because they believe an “exploding” human population is contributing to climate change — and they want no part of it.
Some might call it self-selection, or say it proves Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest” but in a dozen interviews with nervous environmentalists, the NYT found that women are going on birth control and men are practicing celibacy just so that they don’t have to live with the guilt that they brought about environmental ruin.
According to the NYT, the couples have varying approaches to their childlessness, but all believe that it’s best humanity end its run, so as to prevent rising tides and melting poles — and the NYT nods approvingly, arguing that “having a child is one of the costliest actions” people can take, environmentally speaking.
One woman, who is on birth control in order to speed the slow self-destruction of the human species told the NYT, quite simply, that children are “not congruent to a stable society,” and that she fears any kids she might have would be doomed to wander the deserts of a Mad Max-style dystopia, where children fight in Thunderdomes for cans of food. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]Former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post calling for more programs to “stabilize” world population to fight global warming.
Podesta argues “family planning” — code for access to abortion and contraceptives — would “do a world of good for the planet, which is bearing an environmental burden because of population growth.”
“Population projection experts estimate a worst-case scenario in which we grow by 70 percent and reach a population of 13 billion people by the end of the century,” Podesta wrote in an op-ed co-authored with former Colorado Democratic Sen. Tim Wirth.
“But if we continue to invest in sensible international family-planning programs and accept the challenge of meeting the needs of women and families, we could potentially stabilize the population at below 10 billion,” wrote Podesta and Wirth. – READ MORE
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