Name: Climate Change Isn't a Distant Threat -- It's Our Reality | Selina Neirok Leem | TED Countdown
Uploaded: 2022-04-30T15:30:31.000Z
Duration: 6 min 11 s
Description: Selina Neirok Leem学べる英語：

as the sea demoness  swept through the lands

the mounting waves and erosions leave my island gaping

alongside late ambassador for climate change Tony de Brum,

I introduced myself as a small island girl with big dreams.

our chain of islands decorate the Pacific Ocean like seashells,

and they are home to about 60,000 people.

Our islands average about two meters above sea level,

and it is not uncommon to see both the ocean and lagoon side

is the bridge which curves about seven meters above the sea.

The massive body of water is our reality and our livelihood.

as well as providing many resources to fish,

and to adorn our handicrafts with seashells that we make a living from.

But the climate crisis has brought calamities to my people,

In the Pacific, king tide season is from November to April.

This is when the tides are at their highest,

In these months, especially houses by the seashore end up flooded

Schools and churches have had to open their doors for community members

when announcements come in the radio advising to find shelter

And we huddled together with our blankets and pillows,

no matter that we are strangers as we sleep next to one another.

Seawalls are rebuilt as soon as it's low tide,

their path continues on into the islands,

bringing with it garbage we've thrown into it.

You see the graves of your loved ones submerged in water,

for their roots are needed to prevent further erosion.

coming closer and closer to the road each year.

Our driest part of the year happens within this time period, too.

We are unable to use groundwater well because it becomes saltier as well.

and my neighbors and I fill up our tanks,

Our government has had to declare a state of national emergency,

erosion have been the reality of my people for many, many, many years.

I'm not even sure who would even take us in.

But to those who think that we can just accept our fate,

Adaptation and Indigenous knowledge  are the solutions.

for something we contributed very, very little to.

Raising and expanding the islands is something my country is thinking of.

However, we don't have the resources nor the infrastructure.

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Climate Change Isn't a Distant Threat -- It's Our Reality | Selina Neirok Leem | TED Countdown

massive

intimate

infrastructure

applause