4.12 If Climate Change Isn't a Problem Why is Tuvalu Sinking?
Tuvalu is a group of islands in the of the South Pacific. These islands are amazing because they were made by coral. I have embedded a short video below about these amazing creatures.
Simon Kofe, The Foreign Minister of the islands of Tuvalu, gave a speech at the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow about how his country is sinking because of global warming. Here is what Minister Kofe had to say:
There is only one problem with minister Kofe's dramatic speech. Tuvalu is actually growing in size. A University of Auckland study examined changes in the geography of Tuvalu's nine atolls and 101 reef islands between 1971 and 2014, using aerial photographs and satellite imagery. It found eight of the atolls and almost three-quarters of the islands grew during the study period, lifting Tuvalu's total land area by 2.9 percent.
We are told that there is a tide gauge in Tuvalu that shows that the water is rising at a rate twice that of the rest of the world because of climate change. The problem with that is water can't rise more in one part of the ocean than in another. To understand why pour water in a tub and and you'll see the water spread out until the level of the water is the same everywhere in the tub. The only way the gauge could show that the water is rising faster than other places in the world is if the gauge is sinking. That has nothing to do with climate change.
The foreign minister of Tuvalu is trying to convince the countries of the world that the oceans are rising rapidly because of carbon dioxide they are producing. He wants us to believe that this carbon dioxide is significantly heating the planet and melting the glaciers and the ice in the North and South poles and that the melting ice is causing the sea level to rise and swallow his country of Tuvalu. Tuvalu is suing countries that produce a lot of carbon dioxide for compensation.
As always when you don't know the reason for something think money. Tuvalu stands to make a lot of money by convincing the countries of the world that it is sinking and it is their fault and they need to pay up.
Click Here to Take Quiz and Earn Points
What about the Dying Walruses and Polar Bears? Doesn't that Prove Global Warming?