Climate Thoughts with Brian

The map of the known world is being redrawn.

Christina Gerhardt, Associate Professor at the University of Hawai’I and Senior Fellow at the University of California, explores the shifting worlds across six major oceans and seas- from the Arctic to the Caribbean Sea in ‘Sea Change- An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean.’

In this definitive and authoritative guide, Gerhardt fuses the poetic voices of the islanders themselves along with visual maps, highlighting where the issues are likely to be felt the most. The priority in this text, repeated throughout, is that of being a testimony to the cultures, histories and values that are in danger of being lost, as sea level rise continues.

She argues convincingly that not all islands are equal and that threat multipliers can impact ‘vanishing islands’, ‘tidal islands’ and ‘ephemeral islands’ in significant ways.

Gerhardt quotes from the ex- President of the Republic of Naura, Marcus Stephen, when he said ‘You’ve probably never heard of my country, and for that, I forgive you. I believe it’s crucial for the international community to recognize climate change as a threat to international peace and security. It is a danger as great as nuclear proliferation or global terrorism, and the stakes are too high to ignore unto after a disaster is upon us…I forgive you if you have never heard of Nauru- but you will not forgive yourselves if you ignore our story.’

The legacy of colonialism

Gerhardt begins each chapter (or rather record) with a history of the population migrations to each specific island group, thus highlighting the inherent conflict of perspective when we hear the names of ‘paradisical islands’-where in reality, unemployment can be high, infrastructure can be easily damaged and the cost of living can be very high owing to having to have goods shipped in. She makes the point the concept of ‘the island’ looms large in western literature and culture, as places of myth, treasure, danger and monsters. Islanders- when they are mentioned- are subjects and natural resources are there for the taking by the ‘white man’. ‘In a nutshell, many islands are impacted not only by sea level rise but also by the legacy of colonialism and by contemporary competing geopolitical interests.’ In today’s world, geopolitics and the placing of military installations can create advantages for countries and organisations, especially in a shrinking world. Gerhardt makes a comprehensive list of the number of U.S. military installations on islands, in order to drive home the point that colonialism still exists, just in a different guise.

‘Sea Change’ is not however, an atlas which deals in absolutes. ‘Sea level rise is not a line on a map. Neither the sea level nor the land is static.’ The point that Gerhardt makes is that we live in an inter-connected, inter-dependent and inter-relational world and that the actions of countries with large historic emissions continue to impact other communities. ‘The ten nations globally with the lowest CO₂ emissions are all islands nations…And, of course, these places are now under the most severe threat, and through no fault of their own.’

The lens of climate change

Gerhardt notes that ‘Climate change is, of course, not merely an issue. It is a framework that encompasses all else. It is the lens through which to see all else.’

The challenge in this atlas, and indeed with much of climate communication, is to help people see through the lens of your choosing to bring into focus that which has been invisible. ‘How to make visible what might be geographically remote to some? How to render visible the climate science? How to encourage thinking with? How to encourage a thinking that is mindful of how we are all connected, as humans and with nonhumans?’ The wildfires ravaging Hawai’I at present, are a sad and timely reminder that it is difficult to ignore the impact of climate change when it is impacting your community and your heritage.

Choosing where to start this atlas must have been a difficult choice, depending on what ‘map’ of the world you prefer to use and the reasons behind this cultural choice. Gerhardt starts with Greenland- ‘the largest island in the world’s smallest ocean’. With concerns in the past month alone that much of Greenland’s ice could melt, even if warming does not continue, this highlights the clear and present danger that this could have- not just in the northern hemisphere, but globally. ‘Greenland’s land ice melt accounts for approximately 25 percent of global sea level rise (Voosen). If all the ice sheets and glaciers on Greenland melted, it would raise sea levels by 24 feet (7.3m).

‘Slow violence’

Gerhardt uses the term ‘slow violence’ to describe the impact of sea level rise and its attendant dangers. ‘”By slow violence,” he [Professor Rob English] writes, “I mean a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all.”’

The full range of the impacts of sea level rise are not limited to the ‘movie like’ images of gigantic waves crashing over buildings and bringing down rescue helicopters. Gerhardt explores in depth the number of important roads, bridges and power infrastructure which are situated in threatened coastal regions. She describes the dangers of saltwater instruction, the loss of mangrove forests, the lack of coral reefs and beech line rises and storm surges. Drought is also often included as a threat multiplier, as when harvests and crops fail, this puts pressure on resources. Gerhardt also details the threats of overfishing, which has taken away protective oyster reefs, such as in Chesapeake Bay, ‘Deal Island is being lost in whispers.’ Relocation and resettlement carry with them loaded connotations, but they also raise important challenges which have not yet been addressed. ‘Climate refugees’ are not protected in law yet, despite hundreds of millions being projected to be on the move over the course of this century. Where these climate migrants would go and who would welcome them are other vital concerns. Would communities lose their connection to the land and be oceanic nomads and how would this impact cultural ideas of nationality and identity. Then, of course, there is the cost of these ‘managed retreats’. Who will be making the decisions? Who will pay the cost? Will people be forced to leave against their wishes? Why these issues are not formally ironed out, in a world that will see these issues is a baffling one.

Climate tourism

To return to the inherent issue of perspective, Gerhardt separately evaluates the threats to what seems to be a mouth-watering list of holiday destinations. The Maldives, Antigua, Saint Lucia, the Seychelles, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, are all examined objectively. ‘Erosion and sea level rise pose serious threats to Saint Lucia’s infrastructure,’ while the impact of ‘coastal squeeze’ is repeatedly analysed. Gerhardt also comments on the profiteering opportunities that can arise after disasters such as hurricanes, suggesting that exploitation of communities for short-term gain by organisations, may be factor in their lack of decisive action.

There is a chilling note here- that there are countries, which through past action and inaction now, are causing sea level rise and the loss of island communities and identity. Whether this is through ignorance, or apathy, we may indeed be seeing a ‘slow violence’ of genocide.

Gerhardt concludes this atlas of newly drawn maps in Antarctica- another place where melting ice and low sea ice extents are causing anxiety in scientists. ‘If all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, sea levels would rise 16.4 feet (5 m).’ It is the level of comprehension and understanding that is revealing when studies like this are posted- that all of a sudden, sea level rise of over 3 feet (approx. 1 m) is viewed as being acceptable and a good outcome.

Two things are certain- sea level rise will continue and adaptation and disaster management are nowhere in sight.

It’s not so much that people can’t build arks anymore, it’s more that we can’t land them anywhere.