Sea-level rise: the view from ground zero

摘要

It's hard to imagine moving your home - not just the contents but the entire dwelling - every one to two years to prevent it being washed out to sea. But according to Emeretta Cross, this is now a common experience for many I-Kiribati, the inhabitants of the tiny nation of 33 islands that rise just metres above the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Australia and Hawaii.rnCross - born and raised in Kiribati by her Tuvaluan mother and Australian father - says life on the islands is an escalating struggle between the people and the sea, with the sea steadily gaining the upper hand.rn'In our culture, when a young man takes a wife, it was traditional for them to build a hut next to their father's, overlooking the water,' she says. 'Today the young men are building inland from their fathers' huts. But there's not much further inland for them to go.'