While I ate lunch today, a TV program had a special on his visit. The commentators kept saying that the problems facing Tuvalu are a precursor to that of Tokyo: A graphic bizarrely showed a river rushing down between the department stores of Ginza. I don't dispute that global warming is happening. But so much of the publicity given to the effects on these places in the Pacific is for political gain.
Tuvalu's biggest problem - by far - is garbage. Here are some photos I took during a visit there earlier this year. The U.S. constructed the country's single current airstrip during WWII. The fill used for the runway was dug from other parts of the capital island of Funafuti. Those pits today act as fetid garbage dumps for the modern conveniences thrust upon it over the past 50 years by us outsiders: beer cans, junked cars, and endless mounds of plastic. As well, the main island of Funafuti is hopelessly congested. I believe a ban has recently been placed on mining sand from the lagoon but it is common to see folks picking coral from the shores to use as a building material for home foundations.
On the program, dramatic footage showed locals wading in knee-deep water and waves crashing over Funafuti's banks. I believe these incidents can be attributed primarily to two things: human activity (the removal of sand, coral, etc.) and the fact that it is natural, many locals told me this has been happening since they were young - it's just that in the last few years it has become newsworthy.
Sea level rise makes for a great reason for the J-gov to heap tons of aid upon Tuvalu. The problem is that none of it will be going to alleviating the environmental problem (i.e. the piling garbage) and instead will be pushed towards building yet another concrete monstrosity.
