US island is sinking. Residents voted 90% Trump & do not believe in Climate Change

[Demovictory9]

This Virginia island was featured on public radio saturday. I don't have link to story

1. has 25 years left maybe. has lost 2/3rds of the island to water
2. residents don't believe in climate change. Believe that "erosion by waves" is the cause of the problem.
3. voted 90% Trump. get called stupid and other abuse after it was reported they voted for Trump
4. Trump reached out to them after the prez election, implied they would get help, they haven't heard from him since.
5. Need a seawall that will cost 30 million MINIMUM to save the island. Want gov to fund the seawall
6. Only 500 residents.
7. 18 miles off the cost of Virginia

[Solly Mack]

1. To quote Dory - just keep swimming.

[smirkymonkey]

2. Fuck 'em.

They vote Trump, they vote republican, they can suffer the consequences.

[Demovictory9]

5. that's the kind of abuse they are getting. "I hope you drown"calls says mayor

after the prez election, story ran about them voting for Trump. abuse rained down on them.

[JI7]

13. Why would they be bothered by that since they voted for Trump ?

[Blue_true]

20. Why should the federal government help them? That's what they said when

Sandy battered the Northeast.

[dawg day]

62. Come on, you know it's not government interference if it's THEM.

It's what they're OWED because they're... um....

[Demovictory9]

67. The Islanders worked with the EPA to create a plan, THEN voted for Trump

Do they realize that Trump is killing off the EPA!!!????

[MarcA]

55. They are told the truth and think it is abuse. n/t

[Historic NY]

23. exactly...I saw there mayor or whatever on the tv...

hailing how Trump was going to save them. LOL maybe they can get some Mexican wall money.

[lpbk2713]

3. They drank the Kool-Aid and now they're paying for it.

Suckers.

[lame54]

68. Drowning in it

[DFW]

4. They voted 90% Trump. Trump won't lift a finger to help them. They realize it now.

And they'll vote 90% Trump again in the next election. THAT'S when it gets REALLY hard to be sympathetic.

[DBoon]

6. 30 Million to save 500 residents?

I bet they complain bitterly about people on food stamps

[Demovictory9]

7. 30 million to 100 million dollars. yep

[Red Mountain]

38. I don't begrudge them one penny of the money

But it would be interesting to know.

[MarcA]

53. More trumpsters should go live there. n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

61. As many as can fit. Pack 'em in.

[Blue_true]

69. Good idea, maybe it would sink faster then and solve a lot of problems. nt

[workinclasszero]

75. LOL

[hvn_nbr_2]

63. 30 million to build a seawall 18 miles offshore?

Didn't they mean billion?

[SCantiGOP]

8. I was about to say this was pure BS

Misread it to be “Virgin Islands,” which I knew were not 2/3 underwater.
Glad I re-read it. Hope Trump will throw them some much-needed super absorbent paper towels.

[tazkcmo]

33. Me too!

That was a close one!

[klook]

52. Never mind!

[smirkymonkey]

9. I have a suggestion.

Move, idiots.

[ProudLib72]

15. I have a better suggestion

Grow gills, idiots!

[tazkcmo]

35. They should

Show some true commitment and go down with the ship. Only the 90 percent though. Children and the smart ones get relocated.

[MyOwnPeace]

10. Oh, come on!!!!!

You expect them to believe a scientist?

They voted for TRUMP!!!!!!!

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

11. They will.

Then they'll expect us to insure them.
Believe in a set of swim fins and a snorkel?

[empedocles]

12. Actually there are several islands with the same problem

Been there. Olde English accents spoken on some of them.

[Hortensis]

14. Shhh. Trump could divert funds just to spite the left.

I'm fine with letting the 90% sink or swim on their own, but unfortunately too late for that to keep them from having reproduced themselves.

[Demovictory9]

16. ,,

[TheBlackAdder]

17. Let nature reclaim it, as God wants. Some sandbars become land, some land becomes sandbars.

[Blues Heron]

18. It's nuthin but a little erosion, not a prob

burbbble brrbble

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. I saw a video news thing about that/those islands

which included the bit about denying global warming.
BUT
I seem to remember they were comfortable with "erosion" as a description, but not the cause.

There are sand spits in the Gulf of Mexico that people have had houses on for ages, and new ones were built over time, even tho they have less than a foot of sea level. Every time a hurricane washes the houses away, owners rebuild.
Katrina cleaned off some houses AND split the island in two. It is, really, just a sand bar, which tend to "move" with even normal tides and waves.

The re-building seems to be decreasing since Katrina. But still people remain in the houses that are left.

[Igel]

19. And why are the natives wrong?

Because it doesn't suit our political agenda?

Look, Tangier Islands and some other islands around there are suffering from a shitload of reasons.

One is glacial rebound. The area's 'right-heighting' after the ice sheets melted. That's responsible for the island sinking. Notice that--it's the island that's sinking here, *not* "the seas rising to inundate the land." That's a large chunk of it. Yes, this is absolutely fundamentally a result of climate change and global warming. 12,000 years ago. Not a single thing we can do about that, unless we *want* glaciers to return to Manhatten so that New England is a glacial wonderland and Philadelphians have to go perhaps 2 mm to get shaved ice right from under their living room carpet.

Now, the sea level *is* rising. But that's not the #1 problem. It's not the #2 problem. It's the #3 problem. Maybe #4, but we can quibble over the numeration.

#2 is subsidence. All those nice people require water. The Bay around there is too brackish for drinking. So for hundreds of years they've had wells. Well, this does two things. It means salt water has infiltrated the aquifer. And, to the extent that the sea water's infiltration is slowed, it's caused the actual land to sink. More.

Then there's the political cause celebre, "the sea levels are rising, soon the Grand Tetons will be small islands for tourists to inhabit!" Or not. Let's put that at #3, but say that #3 and #4 are close to tied.

One thing that humans tend to do is clear vegetation. That means the heavily wooded periphery of the island with all the grass and tree roots that prevented erosion are gone. This means there's nothing preventing erosion. Hence, there's more erosion than in millennia past.

In fact, if you go back to look at maps of that part of the Bay from the 1600s and 1700s and 1800s, you'll find that entire islands are gone. This has been happening for a long time. It's not a modern thing. #3 might be a bit of a problem, but it's still #3 out of 4, and I'm only putting it #3 to indicate that I think it's a problem, not that it's actually the third in importance.

[yonder]

31. good post and analysis

[scarletwoman]

32. Thank you for pointing out our own biases. The subsidence explanation makes a lot of sense.

As does erosion.

I'll grant that those who are on the ground there have a point about knowing better what's happening.

[Red Mountain]

41. They can point to what is happeneing

But they can't explain WHY.

[Red Mountain]

44. Can you point to a map that suggests glacial rebound will result in falling land heights

in the area of concern? Point is ..... generally glacier pushes land down. Land goes down. Glacier retreats ..... land rises. I guess you are referring to another effect but I'm curious to find out which, exactly.

[NutmegYankee]

46. America is like a giant seesaw

The North was once forced down, making the South rise. Now that the extra weight is gone from the North, it's rising and the south is falling.

[NutmegYankee]

47. National Geographic, November 1973 - article on the shrining island.

I agree, it's not a new thing.

[Ferrets are Cool]

51. Very good post. nt

My bias against PGIC voters does cloud my viewpoint.

[louis c]

74. They voted for less government...

...I say let's give it to them.

[beachbum bob]

21. Good...we can save taxpayers some money

We can offer prayers and best wishes

[Ilsa]

43. "Tots & pears" as one DUer told me. nt

[Blue_true]

70. Thoughts and Prayers. nt

[hatrack]

22. NOAA Predicting 60% Increase In Coastal Flooding This Year Compared To 20 Years Ago

Oh, but pointy-headed librul scientists emails BENGHAAAZZZIIIII, I keep forgetting . . .

The projected increase in high tide flooding in 2018 may be as much as 60 percent higher across U.S. coastlines compared to typical flooding about 20 years ago, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Some flooding in the 2018 seasonal forecast can be credited to an El Niño scientists now believe may occur later this year, however they believe sea level rise is the main culprit for an increase in recent years in coastal high tide flooding, which occurs when water levels measured at NOAA’s numerous tide gauges exceed heights based on national flooding thresholds.

These assertions were made by NOAA scientists on Wednesday in the 2017 State of U.S. High Tide Flooding and a 2018 Outlook, which shows more than a quarter of the coastal locations measured last year tied or broke their individual records for high tide flood days.

“I think the underlying trend is quite clear. Due to sea level rise the national average trend in high tide flood frequency is now more than 50 percent higher than it was 20 years ago and 100 percent higher than it was 30 years ago,” William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer and one of the authors of the report, said on a conference call with reporters.

EDIT

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2018/06/07/491586.htm

[VOX]

24. They need a Republican solution: "Stop throwing rocks into the water, you're making it rise."

And that about does it.

[standingtall]

25. I cannot feel sorry for these people

Something tells me if they can afford to live on an Island with less than 500 people than they can afford to move. Sure the government could help them save the island,but government can help other people too. They voted for Trump who clearly signaled he was going to try to hurt people.

[Volaris]

34. Ya. Bootstraps. The REPUBLICAN way.

[VMA131Marine]

26. So $60,000 per resident to save their island

There's always GoFundMe!

Seriously though, there is probably no sea wall and no amount of money that will save this place from sea level rise in the long term..

[Sneederbunk]

27. Save the 10%

[Glorfindel]

28. Aw, gee, how unfortunate. They will have my thoughts and prayers any day now

just as soon as I can work it into my schedule. I have several shelves of books to dust, and three or four drawers need rearranging. But after that, I'll be sure to think and pray about these Trump supporters and their drowning island.

[randr]

29. Thoughts and prayers

should be enough

[JoeOtterbein]

30. I've been to Tanger several times. The last time was in 2015.

I think I can say the most of people there seem to be freindly. Not very interesting, even though they are living in a beautiful and stimulating area. I was intrigued about the place and the people, but ended up feeling really bored talking to a few of them. I could not wait to get back to the mainland!

[KelleyKramer]

36. The island is sinking??

I thought it was because the water is rising, not the land sinking

[Demovictory9]

40. better phrase "going under water"??

[roamer65]

37. NO seawall. Let them move or drown.

[gibraltar72]

39. Rubes will be rubes.

[Coventina]

42. Hang on, let me get my violin.....

[Duppers]

77. I was going to grab mine too.

They are real idiots.

[Initech]

45. They voted for their own demise.

[rusty fender]

48. Well, 25 years is plenty of time

to plan their moves

[bluecollar2]

49. They should stop throwing rocks

In the water...

[Oneironaut]

50. Time for them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and build the seawall themselves.

Aren't they part of the party of personal responsibility? It's not the government's job to swoop in and save you, right? Guess you're on your own!

[sfwriter]

54. Yeah.... Fuck 'em

[Rorey]

57. Can't they use all the money from the tax cut to cover it?

[workinclasszero]

76. Genius!

[Xolodno]

58. Lets run this down.

1. They will always refuse to admit it was global warming...or the more Bush plausible explanation...global climate change.

2. They will want a government hand out.

3. They won't get a government hand out and will blame the "liburls in Congress and the welfare people" as to why the didn't get their sea wall to save their homes.

4. They will reminisce the days they had their home on the sea until it got swallowed up. But those damn liberals wouldn't lift a finger to help their rich asses and were more concerned about feeding "shit-hole" communities.

-----

Sad to say, I know how the "upper class" thinks. When it came to inheritance, despite the Trust stating explicitly that everyone gets an equal share....there were some who said they deserved more than my Mom, because they lived a higher lifestyle than her. I shit you not.

[shanny]

66. Rich asses? It's a fishing community.

[NCjack]

59. Grow some brains! Really -- do that. Educate your children so they can

explain to you why you are losing your homes and why the rest of us see your team to be the cause.

[JDC]

60. It would cost FAR less the relocate them all

Sorry to say it, but they are done. They need to accept it and move on.

[Demovictory9]

64. agreed. They are practically wading in the streets now. it's over.

time to move to the mainland.

[nini]

65. Thoughts and Prayers to them all

That's all I got for 'em.

[ProfessorGAC]

71. That 90% Probably Actually Believes. . .

. . .the island is actually sinking rather the sea level rising.

Logic is not their strong suit.

[Lee-Lee]

78. You might want to read post # 19

The island is actually sinking to a greater degree than sea level is rising, although both play a part.

[ProfessorGAC]

79. There Is No Data In That Post

And i checked the NatGeo article too. Doesn't prove anything, Lee-Lee. If water isn't rising, the erosion and land drop aren't the issue.

It's, at best, compound effects.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

72. This was on Sarah Silverman's Hulu show, too.

[workinclasszero]

73. Enjoy your pResident, idiots

Thoughts and prayers are on the way for you.

Trump will take care of you like he took care of Puerto Rico, capiche?

Oh and quit throwing rocks in the sea LOL