Comments (28)

1. This is sad and I hope they figure out what the cause is. I can’t say global warming is the reason – it is just a THEORY. How do we know this doesn’t happen every so many thousands of years? We haven’t been studying the earths weather patterns long enough to know one way or another. I’m not saying that humans couldn’t be helping it along, but again, that too is just a theory.

   posted by Chris on 1-27-2010 at 8:17 am

2. I agree with Chris above. We don’t know enough to say if humans have caused these problem or if humans have just been a contributing factor. Personally, I do think this happens from time to time in the Earth’s history (which, if you recall, is about 4.5 billion years old). Over the course of that time, an immeasureable amount of things have happened to the Earth and the beings on Earth). I can say (with a good amount of certainty) that there are way too many people on the planet. The world population is simply too much for Earth to handle. Its like trying to fit 10 people in a car built for a max of 5. Science tells me that Global Warming might be true (or untrue), but common sense tells me that if the population keeps ascending, there will be major problems with the Earth in years to come.

   posted by Ian from Baltimore on 1-27-2010 at 8:38 am

3. sea levels haven’t risen in a long, long time.

   ‘Man-made’ global warming is the biggest crock of crap that the counter-culture has ever tried to get over on the voting consumer.

   posted by johnny on 1-27-2010 at 9:13 am

4. There’s a fantastic book called Freakonomics where they’ve dedicated an entire portion to the misnomer that global warming is caused by people. What’s shocking is, the foremost authorities in the field all agree that the media have sensationalized it to the point that now the facts are buried in so much rhetoric. It’s really an amazing read and made me feel very silly for ever jumping on the bandwagon in the first place.

   posted by Dan on 1-27-2010 at 9:49 am

5. This reminds me a lot of the serious problems faced by many communities in Alaska; many of them are being washed away, just like Polynesia.

   posted by BlueAloe on 1-27-2010 at 9:54 am

6. I think a very simple “it’s supposed to get warmer between ice ages, DUH” should do it, but treehuggers seem to get their way all the time…

   posted by Wayne on 1-27-2010 at 9:56 am

7. Ian, try not to fall victim to economic fallacies — the Malthusian one, in particular. Trying to argue that there is already proof of overpopulation by alluding to that is no argument at all: it is to examine proof of overpopulation as its theorized outcome.

   Anyone can gather statistics to display that if the base of resources doesn’t increase and population increases then all hell will break loose. This is the Malthusian (Thomas Malthus) chimera. Established on this advanced doctrine, adherers go around preaching to people that we need to refrain from further recklessness, for the imminent threat of disaster is ever looming. And the State, of course, is the only hope.

   Another foolish use of this method is discovering that the population of Italy is dropping, ergo, they predict that after a while there will be no Italians remaining.

   The forecasts based on the Malthusian delusion are used as measures of sustainability — i.e., worldly egalitarianism — itself an illogical notion.

   posted by Karen on 1-27-2010 at 10:16 am

8. “experts” agree hunh? All that would take is two “experts” to agree on how much the oceans would rise. I would bet that there are some other “experts” that would agree the opposite.

   posted by Sean on 1-27-2010 at 10:17 am

9. I was just noticing that there haven’t been a lot of “climate change” discussions over the last few months in the media, or on mental_floss…I assume this is directly related to the controversial e-mails sent by Mann and Osborn.

   I have been looking at Miss Celenias “morning cup o links” every day, well almost every day, and she hasn’t posted one in a long time either. Is the concensus no more?

   On the note of sea levels rising…is New Orleans experiencing the same problems as these Polynesian islands, or are the islands simply sinking?

   Do sea levels rise at the same rate across the globe?

   posted by graham on 1-27-2010 at 10:52 am

10. “Experts”? Right. Are these the same experts, like those who hid, destroyed, or manipulated climate data to “prove” the planet was warming? Are these the same experts who published unverified -and now defrocked- claims that Himalayan glaciers were melting faster than normal? Are these the same experts who blame one NATURAL gas -CO2- which animals produce and plants need as the SOLE cause of global warming? These so-called “experts” have no more credibility than a stray cat.

    posted by James on 1-27-2010 at 10:57 am

11. I was actually reading an article receintly and it mentioned Kirbas. Apparently its the top of a former volcano and its falling into the calundrea of the volcano. Thus being at sea level and slowly sinking it appears the sea is rising.

    posted by Chris on 1-27-2010 at 11:16 am

12. It’s a movie about people, not science. An ancient people, like many across the south pacific, who are being drowned out of the place they have lived for thousands and thousands of years.

    They’re screwed, and it’s sad.

    posted by Ransom Riggs on 1-27-2010 at 11:31 am

13. People. Are you really blaming “treehuggers” and “counterculture” for perpetuating some sort of hoax? I’m afraid that you’re being deceived by conspiracy theory. Check this out:

    “The finding that the climate has warmed in recent decades and that human activities are already contributing adversely to global climate change has been endorsed by every national science academy that has issued a statement on climate change, including the science academies of all of the major industrialized countries. With the release of the revised statement by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in 2007, no remaining scientific society is known to reject the basic findings of human influence on recent climate change.”

    Fact. The source is the link on my name (which also cites its sources). I, for one, will trust in science for determining the impact of humanity upon our world; the evidence in favor of mankind affecting our climate is quite substantial.

    captcha: “monsoons ambassador”

    posted by Anonymous on 1-27-2010 at 11:35 am

14. Too many lies, slanders, deceptions, and misunderstandings in the comments so far to deal with all at once. But maybe we can at least get some of the facts straight.

    Chris: Putting THEORY in all caps and using the words “just a” in front of it does not actually change its validity. The theory of climate change is based on solid evidence that extends back thousands, not only tens, of years.

    Dan: The authors of Freakonomics say no such thing. They propose specific geoengineering solutions to the problem that they agree is happening. There is debate over the solution, not the problem. http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/the-superfreakonomics-global-warming-fact-quiz/

    graham: No, sea levels do not rise at the same rate everywhere because of a variety of effects. Subsidence is one of the reasons contributing to the sinking of these islands, but it is clearly not the only reason. Sea level rises have been measured in many other locations around the world, including the east coast of the U.S. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE50F6ZJ20090116

    And if you could be bothered to check a map, you’ll notice that New Orleans is not on the coast, and thus not subject to exactly the same effects as these islands.

    The lengths to which the “skeptics” will go to deny what is plainly evident because of some political grudge is just mind-boggling. Would you deny the nose on your face if a “tree-hugger” told you about it?

    ReCaptcha: you meddler

    posted by Nick on 1-27-2010 at 11:58 am

15. Somebody ever see the ancient city of Alexandria? No?

    That’s because it’s 60 feet behind the water. I guess the Romans produced too much CO2 back then too.

    posted by David on 1-27-2010 at 12:03 pm

16. Wow, so many people get the word theory wrong. Perhaps you should go back to science class and realize that when a scientist says theory they mean something that has evidence supporting it while a hypothesis is an idea that doesn’t have any supporting evidence yet. Therefore, when a scientist says a theory they mean something that has evidence supporting it. Just remember that atomic theory says that matter is made of atoms. So by your logic, since the theory that matter is made of atoms is only a theory then atoms don’t really exist (even though matter is made of atoms and we have lots of evidence for it, heck an AFM wouldn’t work if we didn’t have atoms). So when a scientist says that humans are contributing to global warming is a theory they mean that there is evidence supporting it.

    posted by agaldor on 1-27-2010 at 12:21 pm

17. David;
    Sedimentation buildup of ancient Alexandria’s harbor caused the level to rise.

    posted by Bob on 1-27-2010 at 12:48 pm

18. Wow, where to begin w/ David’s brutal proof that closes the book on global warming.

    First off, the ancient Romans living in Alexandria were a PRE-INDUSTRIAL society, and not creating greenhouse gases to the level of Industrial societies.

    2. Have you ever heard of landfill? It’s common practice for a harbors shoreline to get filled in, extending the shoreline out into what was once water. Chicago, Boston, NY, all have landfill that has created land where once there was water. Lincoln Park in Chicago is landfill, and Lake Shore Drive is on the Lake side of Lincoln Park. You would have needed a boat to navigate that 150 yrs ago.

    3. You ever hear of an archeologist? They tend to go digging down to find things from the past. They still find ancient Roman sites buried under MODERN ROME. In general, when going back into the past, the older stuff is on the bottom, and the newer stuff on top, like how modern Alexandria is high and dry. There are in fact, ancient ruins in Alexandria’s harbor. Archeologists go diving in the harbor and are finding all kinds of good things, most of which were probably deliberately discarded there as opposed to being swallowed by the ocean.

    Alexandria also had a natural harbor, that was expanded by the Romans, which reduces any erosion, whereas these atolls out in the middle of the Pacific have little protection from the constant erosion of the seas in 360 degrees.

    The fact is, just because Alexandria isn’t underwater, does not proof that global warming doesn’t exist.

    posted by Big Jonny on 1-27-2010 at 12:54 pm

19. Putting aside the global warming debate…

    What I find terribly sad is that they are looking for someone to blame. There isn’t always someone to blame. Sometimes things just happen. Instead of seeing themselves of victims, they could be seeing themselves as part of an ever changing environment, accepting reality and moving forward.

    But serious question (not to be taken negatively in light of my previous comments) but why are they all so heavy? What about their diet, culture, etc. lends itself toward them being so heavy.

    posted by Karen on 1-27-2010 at 1:57 pm

20. I see how it’s about the people and them losing their land. I don’t believe global warming is the reason (it is just a theory). The earth changes as she always has. Losing that much culture and history is horrible and sad but what can be done if they’re unwilling to move? Change can suck but you can take history and a lot of culture with you when you relocate.

    posted by Christina on 1-27-2010 at 2:34 pm

21. Reminds me of when I was confronted by a creationist and decided to play them along.

    “Do you know that evolution isn’t really fact?”
    “No, it’s theory.”
    “Right!”
    “Like gravity.”
    “Yeah – what?”
    “I mean, you don’t believe gravity is a fact, do you? It’s only a theory explaining why we stay close to the earth instead of floating into space.”
    “No, but evolution – I mean, that’s different!”

    And so on.

    Whether global warming is a correct theory or an incorrect theory to explain the fact of rising sea levels, I wish that the internet hordes were 1/1000th as passionate about looking for ways to assist people whose lives are affected by that fact as they are about yelling at the top of their lungs “OMG GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX HERE IS SPURIOUS STATEMENT ‘PROVING’ IT OK THX BYE”.

    To clarify, There Once Was An Island didn’t play Sundance, but is being submitted to festivals now. (And I am in no way involved with the production; just second-hand info.)

    posted by dd on 1-27-2010 at 4:42 pm

22. We are taking this climate change business too lightly, people. I guess it’s the perennial attitude to brush off our responsibilities. Oh how the world would be different if we had listened before Pangea split apart. How happy would we be had we not ignorantly caused the Ice Age. Nature was certainly served a hard blow when we hunted dinosaurs into extinction. (End Sarcasm).

    I find it funny that we are taught these facts about the earth’s history and then expected to believe that we are perpetuating a process that has been in action for… well… ever as far as we know. Oh the arrogance at play that teaches a person that he or she can, not only afflict Mother Nature, but fix the “problem”. My money is on nature… which admittedly will be worthless when she wins.

    captcha: anterior Ever

    posted by Rabullione on 1-27-2010 at 7:15 pm

23. How fascinating that Karen falls prey to the fallacy that because a few people in the preview appear to be overweight, they are “all so heavy” when she just finished preaching about avoiding such traps.

    posted by Clare on 1-27-2010 at 7:15 pm

24. Arguing for the sake of arguing. I personally do not believe all the Global Warming fears we are being fed. I am concerned that some officials want to “Spread the Wealth” with the carbon initiatives they are wanting to put in place. However we all must live on this earth (for the time being) and we should take care of it the best we can. Educate your children for it is the right thing to do. For the religious it is being a good steward and taking care of what is Gods. For the environmentalist it is reasonable. The argument of if it is man made is actually a distraction from the solution.

    posted by KevinGA on 1-28-2010 at 10:21 am

25. Rabullione-

    Natural cycles in climate change do not preclude mankind’s role in the process. We as a species are the apex of this world’s evolutionary development; we are able to level mountaintops, and able to drain lakes. We are able to split the very fabric of matter itself to further our goals- why is it that the concept of us fundamentally changing our ecosystem is so difficult to believe? Our technological advances have been comparably innumerable in the past one- or two- hundred years compared to any other time in our history, and with them has come the realization that our planet Earth is *not* invulnerable to the machinations of humanity. It is not arrogance to think this so; it is fact. Many of our activities indisputably affect our climate; it is our burden to bear, and we must not ignore it. We must not wave it off as a stunt, or as political folly. Our affinity for technology is a wonderful thing indeed, but with great power…

    The Takuu situation detailed in this film will be repeated elsewhere, and we’ll know ourselves as a significant contributing factor. Temperance is needed of us if we’re not to irrevocably alter the world. If things keep up the way they are, nature as we know it may or may not pull through- but we almost certainly won’t. This is not a scare tactic, but a humbling truth.

    posted by Anonymous on 1-28-2010 at 11:16 am

26. Takuu, the focus of this documentary, is only one of many endangered Pacific atolls, but its social circumstances are unique. Banning missionaries since the 1960s allowed the community to not only continue their traditional religion but also practice a social structure developed since likely colonization from Samoa some 2000 years ago. Relocation to Bougainville Island, as now seems inevitable, will expose the people to malarial mosquitoes and competing evangelical churches hell-bent (!) on instituting their own social power structure, a combination which has the potential to destroy an entire culture within a single generation. We have a World Wildlife Organisation but, sadly, not a World Humanlife one.

    posted by R Moyle on 1-30-2010 at 4:28 pm

27. Nick,

    If a “tree hugger” told me that I didn’t have a nose on my face, I’d go look in the mirror.

    You call people skeptics because they do not believe in unproven, untested, unquestioned science.

    If this science is plainly evident, why does the chairman of the IPCC have to conceal false data of glacier disappearance? Why do e-mails have to be deleted to conceal real numbers of warming and cooling? Why are world leaders still flying jets everywhere they go?

    Please answer those simple questions for me…

    Also, you are correct, New Orleans was a terrible example of the effects of rising sea levels. I know this now after looking at a map…

    posted by graham on 1-31-2010 at 9:37 am

28. I didn’t think that it got into Sundance (mores the pity). Lyn would have been ecstatic if it had.

    It has just been shown at FIFO in Tahiti, and won the Grand Prix prize. I think it is next being shown at Big Sky doco festival in the US.

    The links to their website are in my post at The Standard

    posted by lprent on 2-2-2010 at 5:44 pm

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