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Tuvalu’s first Olympics may be it’s last. The Pacific island-nation faces inundation from rising sea levels and no one knows if its nine coral atolls will still exist for future Olympics. Tuvalu’s two track athletes and one weightlifter are gunning for more than gold, reports Planet Ark.
Neighbor island-nation Kiribati has sent three athletes to its second Olympics. But its atolls are also disappearing. Storm surges erode coastlines and contaminate fresh water supplies, and long before the islands go under they’ll be uninhabitable.
Think of it as a sneak preview for all coastlines.
Julia Whitty is Mother Jones’ environmental correspondent, lecturer, and 2008 winner of the Kiriyama Prize and the John Burroughs Medal Award.
