The rising sea levels have made islands disappear or almost disappear.  One of these islands is the Nuatambu Island, home of 25 families in the Solomon Islands.  There are many islands like this one facing the same fate.  A lot of people have to adapt to these changes, and find a way to survive.  Global warming is the cause of these unplanned conditions.

The effects of the change in the ocean level is described in an article by a group of authors, “Nuatambu Island, home to 25 families, has lost more than half of its habitable area, with 11 houses washed into the sea since 2011.”  This island causes the Solomon Islands to face the challenge of the families that had higher living conditions having to live in similar conditions as those without the same financial status.

Most of the people that had more than others would not have the same style of living as those that do not have as much.  The climate and weather do not care about how much money you have, or what property you own.  In the eyes of nature, everyone is the same.  Another island that faces the same fate as Nuatambu is the Marshall Islands.

Between the waves hitting the shoreline and the storms that cover the islands, the island has been slowly disappearing.  There have been floods that cause the sewage to overflow and bring infections and dysentery to the towns affected by flooding.  Another loss is businesses causing a separation in the socio-economic structure.  Those with the money to leave the islands are doing so.  This is leaving those that cannot afford to leave behind to face the fate of the island.

One account of the damages to the island is shown in an article by Coral Davenport, “At the western tip of Majuro, in the lush, verdant community of Laura, farmers like Kakiana Ebot grow breadfruit to sell in the island’s central market. But Ms. Ebot’s breadfruit tree recently rotted away and died, she said, the victim of saltwater soaking into the soil and seawater spray on the leaves, she believes.”  This loss of resources lowers the sustainability of life.

Both islands are facing the similar fates.  There is loss of vegetation and areas for people to live.  People that live on the island cannot afford to uphold a socio-economic structure when they all face the same problems.  These issues brought them to sign an agreement in regards to the global climate changes.  This agreement was mentioned in an article by Reuters, “In April, the Solomon Islands was among the 177 nations that signed a global agreement reached in Paris to curb climate change.”

Another area affected by climate change is the coral reefs and other sea life.  An incident that is occurring due to climate change is known as coral bleaching.  Bleaching is explained as a stress response of corals, where they expel their zooxanthellae during unfavorable conditions causing the white colouration that shows up.  One of the reefs with this condition occurring is the Great Barrier Reef.

The bleaching events have been getting more severe over the years.  Results of this increasing intensity are described by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, “Mortality appears to increase with the intensity of the bleaching event, which is determined by how much and for how long temperatures remain above the maximum mean summer temperatures.”  With mortality increasing with the severity of the reef, it is harder for sea life to find a place to live.

The Great Coral Reef is a major tourist spot, and a place where scientists have studied the sea environment over the years.  The warming temperatures of the ocean indicate that this reef may eventually die off forever.  Losing a reef like this would cause major changes in the ocean ecosystem.  Sea-creatures will either die or migrate to areas they do not usual exist.  This reef is one of many where this bleaching occurs.

Another reef where bleaching occurs is the reefs off the coast of Okinawa, Japan.  This has decreased sea life in the oceans around the island.  It has taken away from business resources such as tourism, the local fish market and international trading.  Recent bleaching is recorded as the worst it has been in 20 years according to an article on the euronews webpage.  They have also stated, “Water temperatures have topped 30 degrees Celsius this year. Under such conditions, coral bleaching usually takes place within two to four weeks.”

The future of these reefs shows that they will not last too much longer if things continue the way they are going.  If the greenhouse gas issue is not fixed in time, the reefs will cease to exist.  A professor what quoted explaining a study conducted on the Great Barrier Reefs, and their current situation, “We found on average, that 35% of the corals are now dead or dying on 84 reefs that we surveyed along the northern and central sections of the Great Barrier Reef, between Townsville and Papua New Guinea.”   This is the same fate that is faced by each coral reef around the globe.

A third area affect by the global climate changes is agriculture.  These changes are making it harder for farmers to grow the foods they normally grow.  Some of the changes completely prevent the growth of any crops in that area.  Food produced in one area may not be available in another area, but with the global warming, the areas end up getting switched or moved.

The environmental protection agency tells the complications when it comes to drought.  “Dealing with drought could become a challenge in areas where rising summer temperatures cause soils to become drier. Although increased irrigation might be possible in some places, in other places water supplies may also be reduced, leaving less water available for irrigation when more is needed.”  This can be brought on by climate changes in areas that are not usually warm, or hot.

Drought would decrease food production and lower the availability around the globe.  The U.S. provides nearly 25% of all grains for the global market, as explained by the EPA.  Climate changes could lower this productivity, causing a global shortage.  These global changes could also reduce the areas that livestock can graze.  This in turn would cause livestock to slowly decrease in numbers.

A reduction in the availability of products could cause nations to set trade restrictions on their product to protect food security for their country.  When this happens, that resource becomes harder to acquire globally.  Climate changes would cause this event to occur.  A study done at Brown University shows an impact that climate change has on overall food production, “The study showed that temperature increases of 1 degree Celsius were associated with substantial decreases in both total crop area and double cropping. In fact, those decreases accounted for 70 percent of the overall loss in production found in the study. Only the remaining 30 percent was attributable to crop yield.”

There are studies being conducted to find ways to produce seeds that counter the climate changes and other affects that may occur.  They are developing seeds that can withstand certain temperatures and allow the crop to grow as if there were no changes.  Scientists have possibly even discovered a way to recreate beef that still gives the nutrients a person needs without having to eat actual meat.

Buildings have been designed to help control the climate that is needed for crops to grow.  This would allow corn for example to be grown in cold climate areas without having to worry about it dying of frost.  There have been many adaptation ideas brought up in regards to agriculture.  These adaptations are explained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Managed carefully, climate adaptation strategies could have environmental benefits for some countries. The Canadian agricultural sector has identified 96 different adaptation measures, including: change in topography of land (11 measures), use of artificial systems to improve water use/availability and protect against soil erosion (29), change farming systems (21), change timing of farm operations (2), use of different crop varieties (7), governmental and institutional policies and programmes (16), and research into new technologies (10).”  Each of these could provide food security for the world.

The global climate change is not only affecting the temperature of earth, but also the lively hood of the people living on the planet.  It is also affecting the wildlife and its ability to survive.  If things are not done to change the way the world is heading, we are in for some hard times.  There may not even be an answer to the problem.  It will be harder to find until people start working together to solve the issues that are being faced.

References

Albert, S., Grinham, A., Gibbes, B., Leon, J., Church, J. (May 6, 2016) Sea-level rise has claimed five whole islands in the Pacific: first scientific evidence (NPG.) retrieved from: http://theconversation.com/sea-level-rise-has-claimed-five-whole-islands-in-the-pacific-first-scientific-evidence-58511

Arc Centre of Excellence Coral Reef Studies (unknown) Coral death toll climbs on Great Barrier Reef (NPG.) retrieved from: https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/coral-death-toll-climbs-on-great-barrier-reef

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (unknown) Coral Bleaching (NPG.) retrieved from: http://www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/oceantemp/GBR_Coral.shtml

Davenport, Coral (unknown) The Marshall Islands Are Disappearing (NPG.) retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/02/world/The-Marshall-Islands-Are-Disappearing.html

Environmental Protection Agency (unknown) Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply (NPG.) retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-agriculture-and-food-supply

Euronews (Aug. 26, 2016) Coral bleaching in Japan the worst in 20 years, scientists say (NPG.) retrieved from: http://www.euronews.com/2016/08/26/coral-bleaching-in-japan-the-worst-in-20-years-say-scientists

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2007) Adaptation to climate change in agriculture, forestry and fisheries: Perspective framework and priorities (P. 12:PP. 2) retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/James/Downloads/9625.pdf

Reuters (May 10, 2016) Five Pacific Islands lost to rising seas as climate change hits (NPG.) retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/10/five-pacific-islands-lost-rising-seas-climate-change

Stacey, Kevin (Mar. 7, 2016) Study suggests impact of climate change on agriculture may be underestimated (NPG.) retrieved from: https://news.brown.edu/articles/2016/03/matogrosso