THAT SINKING FEELING: Andrew Hofer did a good job of pointing out some of the reasons why the Pacific island of Tuvalu will have a hard time in court proving that US SUV usage caused the sea to swallow it up. I would add one minor point to his argument: It's not sinking! As was documented in the October 26th issue of Science magazine, Tuvalu has experienced falling sea levels for 50 years now and this is predicted to continue. (NOTE: Unfortunately Science is not available online for free, but I was able to access it from UT and can confirm that the article I'm linking to, from the pro-CO2 site, The Greening Earth Society is correctly quoting the journal and accurately reproducing their images. They are indeed funded by electric companies, but that doesn't mean everything they say is a lie.)
It seems that the scientists have scared the people of Tuvalu into thinking that global warming will sink them, but as The CIA World Factbook -- Tuvalu makes clear, many of their environmental problems have been caused by their own poor stewardship, which has exacerbated the ill-suitability of the island for human habitation (emphasis mine):
Environment - current issues: since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table.
TUVALU PM ADMITS CONFUSION OVER CONFLICTING REPORTS ON SEA LEVELSFUNAFUTI, Tuvalu (February 24, 2000 ? Radio Australia)---Tuvalu Prime Minister Ionatana Ionatana admits he is confused by conflicting reports about sea levels surrounding Tuvalu.
Tuvalu is a low-lying island nation which has been experiencing abnormally high spring tides in recent years, which Tuvaluans believe will eventually force them to evacuate to another country.
But Prime Minister Ionatana said scientists who have been monitoring sea levels since 1980 say Tuvalu's sea levels have been falling and not rising.
"Scientists have confused us.
"The Australian government has recently told us from the facts, from the figures, that these tide gauges have provided to Flinders University that there is not going to be a sea rise in the immediate future for Tuvalu. It has been noticed that the sea is falling," he said.
"So here we are with the situation. We are threatened by rising sea levels and here are these tide gauges telling us there is no sea rise. There is likely to be a sea level fall.
"Now where do we stand here?"