How did this get published, one may ask. It seems that some scientists have discovered that coral atolls build themselves up to keep pace with the ever so slowly rising seas. Who’d have thunk it? Natural creatures like corals building their little homes in exactly the right place that they like to live. Amazing.
But not only that, the action of the sea assists in keeping the atolls above sea level. Incredible – and no one suspected that this had been going on for millennia.
In recent years, leaders and inhabitants of many small-island nations like Kiribati and Tuvalu have warned that climate change is an existential threat to their homelands, fearing they could disappear under rising seas as the planet warms.
But according to research published on Wednesday, small, low-lying islands dotted around the Pacific and the Caribbean – often seen as places most vulnerable to global warming – can naturally adapt and raise themselves above encroaching waves.
Oh noes, that will mean the begging bowl will have to be withdrawn. They can no longer blame the West and ask for cash.
A three-year study led by Britain’s University of Plymouth, which looked at coral reef islands such as the Maldives and the Marshall Islands, found that tides move sediment to create higher elevation, a process that may keep the islands habitable.
Utterly amazing, the balance of nature wins again.
The world’s tens of thousands of coral reef islands are mostly uninhabited, but are home to about 1 million people who largely rely on fishing or tourism for a living, said Masselink.
Although the islands have different structures due to varying weather and wave patterns, they tend to be relatively small, low-lying, sandy or gravel islands sitting on top of a living reef platform.
They were formed hundreds of thousands of years ago by waves moving and piling up reef material or sediment to create higher ground – a natural defence mechanism that continues, he noted.
Case closed, we can move on to the next invented crisis, or can we?
Naturally they had to conclude with
But even if islands can adapt naturally to higher seas by raising their own crests, humans still need to double down on global warming and protection for island populations, he added.
It is still the fault of the evil West.
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