'We're not giving up': Beset by climate change, island nations act as conscience of a warming world
When Palau President Surangel Samuel Whipps Jr. recently took his children to his nation's Helen Island, two-thirds of it was gone. Rising seas caused by climate change had swallowed generational burial grounds, washing away a people's entire culture and identity.
TL;DR
- Rising seas caused by climate change have significantly eroded Helen Island in Palau.
- Two-thirds of Helen Island is now gone.
- Generational burial grounds have been swallowed by the rising seas.
- The loss of the island represents a destruction of culture and identity for Palau.
- Palau President Surangel Samuel Whipps Jr. observed this destruction with his children.