The Damages Caused by Global Warming

This is one of the islands of Tuvalu, a country situated next to the Republic of Kiribati. This island is about to sink under water. This picture was taken in October 2000.
Details of the damages in Tuvalu

The Damages to the Southern Islands Caused by the Rising Sea Level

Unfortunately, the causes of global warming mostly originated in developed nations. The greenhouse gases produced by the daily use of modern conveniences make the earth warmer which in turn causes sea levels to rise.

Although the islands of Tuvalu are rather undeveloped and there are no industries that emit greenhouse gases nor do people have cars, they are the first to feel the effects of global warming.

Christmas Island photographed from the sea and at low tide. When the tide is in, almost the entire beach disappears.

Christmas Island is 1.5 meters above sea level, which is a little higher than the other neighboring islands. People on Christmas Island appear to feel safe. But this picture indicates that their confidence may only be false hope.

There is not a big difference in height between the sea surface and the land surface that the houses stand on. They could be destroyed by the next big wave.

I am not talking only about coastal areas but whole islands. The average elevation of these atolls above sea level is only about one meter.

On one of these islands, in 1998, almost all the houses and roads were washed away.

Tarawa, the capital of the Republic of Kiribati. There is little difference in height between its sea and land, as you can see. If a tropical storm were to hit and 2-meter high waves came in, you can imagine how terrible it would be.

Coconut trees knocked down by waves. Coconut trees spread their roots wide and deep, which prevents the erosion of land. Without these trees, nothing can protect the land from the waves.

Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean faces the same danger, too. Male, the capital island of the Republic of Maldives, was swept away by a flood tide in 1987. Japan did what it could to reinforce the shore to protect it from another flood tide, but with an average elevation of only 2 meters above sea level, there is a limit to what can be done. Some day some islands could find themselves under water.

Another island country, Japan, could face a similar disaster.

But there must be a lot of things that we can do in our daily lives to prevent this from happening.

>>Next Page>>

Some pictures on these pages are reproduced from Oh! My Motherland Is Sinking into the Sea written by Yoshikichi Sukeyasu, published by Eight Publishing, Inc. and used under permission thereof.

Merry Christmas from Christmas Island is produced and sold by Mibunri Design Institute; Site Communication from 1999 for the purpose of educating more and more people to the damaging conditions brought on by the rising sea level due to global warming. Therefore a part of the sales is donated to the governments of these islands.

Copyright 1999～ MIBUNRI Design Institute. all rights reserved.

The Damages to the Southern Islands Caused by the Rising Sea Level
Unfortunately, the causes of global warming mostly originated in developed nations. The greenhouse gases produced by the daily use of modern conveniences make the earth warmer which in turn causes sea levels to rise. Although the islands of Tuvalu are rather undeveloped and there are no industries that emit greenhouse gases nor do people have cars, they are the first to feel the effects of global warming.
	Christmas Island photographed from the sea and at low tide. When the tide is in, almost the entire beach disappears. Christmas Island is 1.5 meters above sea level, which is a little higher than the other neighboring islands. People on Christmas Island appear to feel safe. But this picture indicates that their confidence may only be false hope.
	There is not a big difference in height between the sea surface and the land surface that the houses stand on. They could be destroyed by the next big wave. I am not talking only about coastal areas but whole islands. The average elevation of these atolls above sea level is only about one meter. On one of these islands, in 1998, almost all the houses and roads were washed away.
	Tarawa, the capital of the Republic of Kiribati. There is little difference in height between its sea and land, as you can see. If a tropical storm were to hit and 2-meter high waves came in, you can imagine how terrible it would be.
	Coconut trees knocked down by waves. Coconut trees spread their roots wide and deep, which prevents the erosion of land. Without these trees, nothing can protect the land from the waves.
Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean faces the same danger, too. Male, the capital island of the Republic of Maldives, was swept away by a flood tide in 1987. Japan did what it could to reinforce the shore to protect it from another flood tide, but with an average elevation of only 2 meters above sea level, there is a limit to what can be done. Some day some islands could find themselves under water. Another island country, Japan, could face a similar disaster. But there must be a lot of things that we can do in our daily lives to prevent this from happening. >>Next Page>> Some pictures on these pages are reproduced from Oh! My Motherland Is Sinking into the Sea written by Yoshikichi Sukeyasu, published by Eight Publishing, Inc. and used under permission thereof.