Post #609334 by Club Nouméa on Fri, Oct 7, 2011 2:47 AM

On the topic of Tuvalu, there was an interesting report from Michael Field on Radio New Zealand's National Programme this morning. It seems that the current drought on Tuvalu has less to do with global warming than with other factors. Drought is nothing new there (and is a regular occurrence on Pacific Islands), but it has been aggravated by the fact that the island is overpopulated compared to its traditional population levels. Also, in 2005, the government there decided to use the money it obtained from selling its rights to the ".tv" web code to seal the roads on the island. When you combine that with the sealed airstrip that the US forces built there in WWII in preparation for the battle of Tarawa, the result is that now, over 30% of Tuvalu's surface is tarsealed. Consequently, when it rains, a large percentage of the rainwater that used to become groundwater runs off roads and drains into the sea. And, according to Mr Field, paradoxically, the region is in a La Niña cycle at the moment, which actually means the sea level is lower than normal...

Not that I am trying to discredit climate change; just to say that there is a range of factors involved in Tuvalu's plight.

CN