406 CHAPTER ElEvEn ■ TransnaTional issuesthe human cost of clImate change
Behind The headlines
If climate change continues, small island states
and states with low elevations near the seas may
see their land subsiding and their national terri-
tory shrinking. Their populations may be more
susceptible to higher rates of waterborne dis-
eases, caused by increased temperatures and
changes in rainfall. Many states already are
located in tropical areas, where diseases such as
dengue, schistostomiasis, and malaria are ram-
pant. It is no surprise that recently we have seen
headlines like “As Seas Rise, Millions Cling to Bor-
rowed Time and Dying land.”a We are likely to
see more such headlines.
Climate change can have an outsized effect
on small island nations. Their economies often
depend largely on tourism (in the Maldives, for
example, 95 percent of the labor force is involved
in tourism, as is 70 percent in the Bahamas), andThe 10,000 residents of the South Pacific island of Tuvalu collect fresh water made from desalinated sea water
daily. The rising sea levels have resulted in a water shortage caused by contaminated ground water. Financial
assistance for the desalination plants is being provided by the governments of Australia, New Zealand, and the
United States.