Marshall Islands casualties of global climate change?

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The rising ocean is swallowing the Marshall Islands, and the tiny nation’s 61,000 residents are wondering: What then? Will they still have a country, complete with a UN seat, and control of their fisheries and now-submerged minerals? “We’re facing a set of issues unique in the history of the system of nation-states,” one adviser to the islands tells the AP. The island is expected to be underwater by 2100, but is already becoming uninhabitable, as the ocean dumps salt into its water supply.

The Marshallese government has asked Columbia University’s legal scholars to research the issues for them. They’ve found plenty of instances of nations fading, usually through conquest or annexation. But “no country has ever physically disappeared,” says the head of the university’s Center for Climate Change Law. “It’s a real void in the law.” Perhaps the thorniest question: What happens to the 800,000 square miles of ocean the islands have exclusive fishing rights to? Most of the nation’s income comes from leasing those waters.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.
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13 years ago

Arguing about Global Warming with a denier is like trying to grab a hand full of water. The harder you try, the less progress you will make.

Sad that the Marshall Islands always seems to catch the brunt of technologies worst effects. We tried our best to blow them off the face of the Earth or make them glow during all the atomic testing.

Now here again, our exponential use of fossil fuels and its technology threatens them again. Prove positive that no corner of the globe is safe from the effects of mankind.

The Lt.
13 years ago

I try not to be hostile when commenting on blogs and sites. Since I comment now almost exclusively on this site the rule will stand, however this is tough. I can’t understand how anyone could not see the evidence of global warming for themselves. If they start watching real news as opposed to Fox perhaps they will be able to draw the obvious conclusion. That wasn’t hostile was it?

JonJo
13 years ago

The scientists are now admitting the data was wrong and there has been no global warming since 1995. What fiction film will Al “I invented the Internet” Gore have to make a living off of now?

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