The Alaskan village set to disappear under water in a decade
41 replies, posted
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/69002000/jpg/_69002528_kivalina-976.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE]Almost no one in America has heard of the Alaskan village of Kivalina. It clings to a narrow spit of sand on the edge of the Bering Sea, far too small to feature on maps of Alaska, never mind the United States.
Which is perhaps just as well, because within a decade Kivalina is likely to be under water. Gone, forever. Remembered - if at all - as the birthplace of America's first climate change refugees.
Four hundred indigenous Inuit people currently live in Kivalina's collection of single-storey cabins. Their livelihoods depend on hunting and fishing.
The sea has sustained them for countless generations but in the last two decades the dramatic retreat of the Arctic ice has left them desperately vulnerable to coastal erosion. No longer does thick ice protect their shoreline from the destructive power of autumn and winter storms. Kivalina's spit of sand has been dramatically narrowed.
The US Army Corps of Engineers built a defensive wall along the beach in 2008, but it was never more than a stop-gap measure.
A ferocious storm two years ago forced residents into an emergency evacuation. Now the engineers predict Kivalina will be uninhabitable by 2025.
Kivalina's story is not unique. Temperature records show the Arctic region of Alaska is warming twice as fast as the rest of the United States.
Retreating ice, slowly rising sea levels and increased coastal erosion have left three Inuit settlements facing imminent destruction, and at least eight more at serious risk.
The problem comes with a significant price tag. The US Government believes it could cost up to $400m (£265m) to relocate Kivalina's inhabitants to higher ground - building a road, houses, and a school does not come cheap in such an inaccessible place. And there is no sign the money will be forthcoming from public funds.
Kivalina council leader, Colleen Swan, says Alaska's indigenous tribes are paying the price for a problem they did nothing to create.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23346370[/url]
This is nothing compared to where we'll be in 50 years or so. Once the coastal cities start getting permanently flooded, we will be dealing with tens of millions of displaced refugees.
Holy shit 10 years? That's going to be fast.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;41649782]This is nothing compared to where we'll be in 50 years or so. Once the coastal cities start getting permanently flooded, we will be dealing with tens of millions of displaced refugees.[/QUOTE]
Like California falling into the sea
its a fish
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/hlkYGRK.jpg[/IMG]
itll be fine
[quote] Kivalina council leader, Colleen Swan, says Alaska's indigenous tribes are paying the price for a problem they did nothing to create.[/quote]:/
ffs i didn't say that they did cause it you idiots
Just get Sarah Palin to build a bridge to them, it'll work out
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;41649782]This is nothing compared to where we'll be in 50 years or so. Once the coastal cities start getting permanently flooded, we will be dealing with tens of millions of displaced refugees.[/QUOTE]
Netherlands? More like nomorelands
[quote] The US Army Corps of Engineers built a defensive wall along the beach in 2008, but it was never more than a stop-gap measure.[/quote]
I love the USACoE
[QUOTE=DaysBefore;41649862]Just get Sarah Palin to build a bridge to them, it'll work out[/QUOTE]
because building a bridge that saves thousands of people a ~6 hour drive is useless!
[QUOTE=Killer900;41649846]:/[/QUOTE]
They... are? The indigenous tribes basically had next to nothing to do with global climate change. That applies to basically every single little island nation and town that's getting fucked over.
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;41649893]I love the USACoE[/QUOTE]
they are what would happen if civil engineers were given tanks, heavy machinery, and an unlimited budget. they get shit done and fix'd the right way
Maybe if we just ignore it the water will stop rising. In the meantime [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-bans-latest-science-rising-sea-level/story?id=16913782"]I propose a bill that bans science on the subject.[/URL] That should stop it.
[QUOTE=OvB;41650480]Maybe if we just ignore it the water will stop rising. In the meantime [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-bans-latest-science-rising-sea-level/story?id=16913782"]I propose a bill that makes study of sea level rise illegal.[/URL] That should stop it.[/QUOTE]
To hell with politics and science, let's all pull a Caligula and STAB the water! That way, the sea will have no choice but to stop rising!
[QUOTE=ChrisR;41650505]To hell with politics and science, let's all pull a Caligula and STAB the water! That way, the sea will have no choice but to stop rising![/QUOTE]
Neptune must be defeated.
[QUOTE=OvB;41650480]Maybe if we just ignore it the water will stop rising. In the meantime [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-bans-latest-science-rising-sea-level/story?id=16913782"]I propose a bill that bans science on the subject.[/URL] That should stop it.[/QUOTE]
I was really hoping that was satire. How utterly [I]idiotic[/I]!
When are we gonna have a functioning technocracy so we can actually get shit done?
Scrubs. Get on this mans level:
[img]http://assets.dornob.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/flood-proofed-island-home1.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;41649782]This is nothing compared to where we'll be in 50 years or so. Once the coastal cities start getting permanently flooded, we will be dealing with tens of millions of displaced refugees.[/QUOTE]
That will happen, but in 50 years? I have severe doubts about that. Approximately half of Greenland (or an equivalent to it) would have to melt to raise the water ~10 feet which, if I'm not mistaken, is when we'll start seeing some real nasty effects for lower lying cities. Greenland has ~2.75 million cubic kilometers of ice and, [url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080930081355.htm]as measured between 2003 and 2008[/url], lost ~195km³ annually. If we take half of the mass (~1.38 million cubic km) and divide it by...let's say 300km³ to account for speeding up, we arrive at 4600 years.
Now obviously this is very approximate math and doesn't account for increased melt rates (whatever they may be) or the rest of the world's ice melt...but can you IMAGINE how fast the ice would have to melt for the sea level to rise that much in just 50 years? Also, can anyone find a decent source on how much the Antarctic loses annually? I'm trying, but I keep getting shit from the Guardian or ABC.
Also, don't take this for me saying that we shouldn't do anything because we ABSOLUTELY should; We should have started a long time ago. However, unless you have a good source to back it up, don't let fear mongering estimates make you lose perspective. Hell, even in this article they're not talking about sea level rise but that erosion is going to effectively tear the island apart.
[QUOTE=ewitwins;41650304]They... are? The indigenous tribes basically had next to nothing to do with global climate change. That applies to basically every single little island nation and town that's getting fucked over.[/QUOTE]
But they're clearly using petrol..? They have roads and heating.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;41649864]Netherlands? More like nomorelands[/QUOTE]
but we have plans of building cities on water so we'll be like atlantis and we'll be really cool
I have the strangest thought in my head. A good lore for a game featuring Atlantis could be that they ended up wiping themselves out by their ultra advanced technology causing drastic climate changes and the melting large chunks of the arctic ice :v:
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;41649864]Netherlands? More like nomorelands[/QUOTE]
Eh, at that time we'd all just get high on weed so the water can't touch us.
But this kind of shit is terrible. It's unavoidable by now probably, but it's still terrible.
Also ~0-1 meters here get on my level.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;41649864]Netherlands? More like nomorelands[/QUOTE]
This is my reason for not cutting back on CO2-emissions. My hatred for the dutch is greater than my love for the rest of the world :v:
[QUOTE=Furioso;41650782]I was really hoping that was satire. How utterly [I]idiotic[/I]!
When are we gonna have a functioning technocracy so we can actually get shit done?[/QUOTE]
we just gotta merge with the helios ai
Build a dome over it. Problem solved, and world's first underwater town. That way it gets tourists and makes tons of money. :v:
No seriously though, that sucks. That's a nice little town and soon it'll be all Cthulhu food. D:
[QUOTE=Emperorconor;41650814]Scrubs. Get on this mans level:
[img]http://assets.dornob.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/flood-proofed-island-home1.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
Cool and frightening at the same time.
[QUOTE=Teddybeer;41651833]Only losers become the seas bitch.[/QUOTE]
You forgot that we spent millions on the Delta Plan which should keep us dry for a long time.
[QUOTE=Emperorconor;41650814]Scrubs. Get on this mans level:
[img]http://assets.dornob.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/flood-proofed-island-home1.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] that's pretty dam smart
[QUOTE=Emperorconor;41650814]Scrubs. Get on this mans level:
[img]http://assets.dornob.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/flood-proofed-island-home1.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
Reminds me of the game "From Dust"
[QUOTE=EliteGuy;41649821]Like California falling into the sea[/QUOTE]
Uhm. Noooo that's not going to happen. Maybe areas of Florida without elevation, the low countries, and parts of islands bordering Cali, but Cali is high in elevation.
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