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Tuvalu Turns To the Metaverse as Rising Seas Threaten Existence (reuters.com) 78

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
Tuvalu says it plans to build a digital version of itself, replicating islands and landmarks and preserving its history and culture as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the tiny Pacific island nation. From a report: Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simon Kofe told the COP27 climate summit it was time to look at alternative solutions for his country's survival and this included Tuvalu becoming the first digitised nation in the metaverse -- an online realm that uses augmented and virtual reality (VR) to help users interact.

"Our land, our ocean, our culture are the most precious assets of our people and to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we will move them to the cloud," he said in the video that sees him standing on a digital replica of an islet threatened by rising sea levels. Kofe grabbed global attention at last year's COP26 when he addressed the conference standing knee-deep in the sea to illustrate how Tuvalu is on the front line of climate change. Tuvalu was having to act because countries globally were not doing enough to prevent climate change, he said.
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Tuvalu Turns To the Metaverse as Rising Seas Threaten Existence More

Tuvalu Turns To the Metaverse as Rising Seas Threaten Existence

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  • You can't walk around an island without legs.
  • It sounds like the citizens and govt. of Tuvalu might be better served in finding new land/islands to move to an inhabit that are a bit higher than sea level, rather than waste time buying and constructing in the "metaverse"...something unproven and so far, unpopular.

    I mean, who knows if metaverse will be around much in any form in the near future? I don't see a rush to it yet...and if it happens, I doubt very much it will look like it does now, nor would I bet that the current players will be in charge of

    • Re:Sounds like they might be better served... (Score:4, Funny)

      by Drethon ( 1445051 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2022 @10:17AM (#63055442)

      It sounds like the citizens and govt. of Tuvalu might be better served in finding new land/islands to move to an inhabit that are a bit higher than sea level, rather than waste time buying and constructing in the "metaverse"...something unproven and so far, unpopular.

      I mean, who knows if metaverse will be around much in any form in the near future? I don't see a rush to it yet...and if it happens, I doubt very much it will look like it does now, nor would I bet that the current players will be in charge of it.

      Make entries in wikipedia or something....and start looking for a REAL physical place to move!!

      In other words, if the metaverse ends up sinking faster than Tuvalu, why did they bother?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by kenh ( 9056 )

        Metaverse doesn't answer the "where to live?" question, they'll be asylum seekers with no easy path to the southern US border.

        • Metaverse doesn't answer the "where to live?" question, they'll be asylum seekers with no easy path to the southern US border.

          Unless someone solve the problem of how to transfer consciousness to the metaverse. Though I don't think I'd ever want my consciousness sitting somewhere Zuckerberg has control of the off switch.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by tragedy ( 27079 )

      Make entries in wikipedia or something....and start looking for a REAL physical place to move!!

      Yes, after all, nations such as the US are so happy to take in refugees.

      • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

        by tragedy ( 27079 )

        Wow, modded down within minutes of posting with an "overrated". Looks like someone has some sockpuppet accounts for abusing the moderation system.

      • Re: (Score:1, Redundant)

        by cayenne8 ( 626475 )

        Yes, after all, nations such as the US are so happy to take in refugees.

        We've taken our share....more than our share these past few years.

        We can afford to spread the wealth....let other countries take in the refugees.

        Hell, why aren't all the refuge seekers from South America stopping in Mexico for asylum? I mean, according to the asylum rules, aren't the refugees supposed to stop at the first country they come to?

        But hell....we've had millions come across in past few years and it seems to be increasing

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tragedy ( 27079 )

          We've taken our share....more than our share these past few years.

          Not even remotely close. The number of refugees the US takes in has been trending down on average over the last 30 years. 132K in '92, 25K in 2022 (which is twice as high as the previous two years). The world has 32.5 million refugees. That's actually pretty pitiful given the size of the US.

          So, don't give the US shit about taking in refugees.....we've been taking TONs of them, and the numbers seem to be increasing.

          Self-delusion.

          They have a true case for applying for asylum, other than most of the people coming into the US illegally through our southern border as that "bettering your life financially" is not grounds for asylum.

          Aw, aren't you just a saint.

      • Canada will take them. Canada is upping the number of immigrants per year to 500,000.

        If they want to move from an island paradise to a country that is a deep freeze half the year is a whole other question. Apparently some refugee from Kiev is going viral with a complaint about the tough winters in Saskatchewan. When a refugee from Ukraine complains about the weather, you know it's bad.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      Tuvalu was the 189th country to join the UN, all the way back in 2000, has about 12K citizens, and occupies an area of approximately 10 sq miles, per Wikipedia.

      Apparently the islands are so uninhabitable that they rely heavily on imported food, since they lack adequate farmable land to approach self-sufficiency. Tuvalu, being situated midway between Hawaii and Australia is literally near nothing.

      The only thing I know about Tuvalu is that Richard Feynman was a big fan and ardent practitioner of the Tuvaluan

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 )
      What's not to like about elaborate but buggy 3D photos of your former country? It's an adequate replacement for it, right? It's a few steps lower than a redneck replacing his sister with a sex-doll after she's drowned.

  • China (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ritz_Just_Ritz ( 883997 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2022 @10:07AM (#63055412)

    I'm sure the Chinese would be more than delighted to help them with their problem by dredging up sand and creating some separation between Tuvalu and the Pacific. And all they'll want is a naval base and the ability to install some SAM and anti-ship missile batteries.

    Coming soon to a theater near you.

  • 100m of natural sea level rise in last 10k years (Score:5, Informative)

    by mpercy ( 1085347 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2022 @10:25AM (#63055464)

    Places like Tuvalu cannot survive even small sea-level changes, no matter the cause. Sea level rises due to climate change, which human pollution is certainly aggravating, will hit places like Tuvalu hard. But currently these are small changes compared the 100m or so of sea level rise in the last 10,000 years, all of which was "natural".

    That is not to say that we shouldn't do what we can to reverse human impact on the environment, but it's not *just* man-man climate change that will drown places like Tuvalu.

    Sea level rose by 6 cm during the 19th century and 19 cm in the 20th century. Based on tide gauge data, the rate of global average sea level rise during the 20th century lies in the range 0.8 to 3.3 mm/yr, with an average rate of 1.8 mm/yr.

    Solid geological evidence, based largely upon analysis of deep cores of coral reefs, exists only for 3 major periods of accelerated sea level rise, called meltwater pulses, during the last deglaciation. They are Meltwater pulse 1A between circa 14,600 and 14,300 years ago; Meltwater pulse 1B between circa 11,400 and 11,100 years ago; and Meltwater pulse 1C between 8,200 and 7,600 years ago.

    Meltwater pulse 1A was a 13.5 m rise over about 290 years centered at 14,200 years ago and Meltwater pulse 1B was a 7.5 m rise over about 160 years centered at 11,000 years ago.

    In sharp contrast, the period between 14,300 and 11,100 years ago, which includes the Younger Dryas interval, was an interval of reduced sea level rise at about 6.0–9.9 mm/yr.

    Meltwater pulse 1C was centered at 8,000 years ago and produced a rise of 6.5 m in less than 140 years, such that sea levels 5000 years ago were around 3m lower than present day, as evidenced in many locations by fossil beaches. Such rapid rates of sea level rising during meltwater events clearly implicate major ice-loss events related to ice sheet collapse. The primary source may have been meltwater from the Antarctic ice sheet. Other studies suggest a Northern Hemisphere source for the meltwater in the Laurentide Ice Sheet (The last major shift in drainage occurred around 8,200 years ago. The melting of remaining Hudson Bay ice caused Lake Agassiz to drain nearly completely. This final drainage of Lake Agassiz has been associated with an estimated 0.8 to 2.8 m (2.6 to 9.2 ft) rise in global sea levels.)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tragedy ( 27079 )

      Given how much of Tuvalu is built up with phosphate rock from bird guano deposits, it seems likely that it could cope with slow sea level rise in the past. The islands basically grew upwards thanks to the birds. The current extremely rapid sea level rise, however, is going to be much more than that mechanism can cope with.

      • So what you're saying is the birds aren't shitting enough?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tragedy ( 27079 )

          It would not matter if they did. The rock can't form that fast.

          • What if we give all the birds sturdy boots so that they compress the shit faster when they land & walk about?

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by tragedy ( 27079 )

              Won't work. Have you looked at bird feet? They narrow greatly, then splay out. To get into boots like that you need complicated lacing arrangements or zippers and the birds just can't operate those with their beaks.

              • How about clogs that they can perch on?

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by tragedy ( 27079 )

                  I'm not sure what you mean by clogs since that seems to have been redefined. Do you mean Dutch wooden shoes or some other type of shoe? Either way, the birds will have a very hard time walking around in them.

                  • Yes, Dutch wooden shoes or even rollerskates, with little perches attached on top for the birds to hold on to while they walk or skate. Do you think that'd work?
                    • Here's a parrot giving a proof of concept demonstration along with some other modes of ground transportation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by tragedy ( 27079 )

                      Ok. That was a very impressive video. I think the roller would work better than the clogs or skates. Of course, none of those methods would actually work since the guano would not dry out fast enough and compaction is not the problem.

                    • OK then. Your turn. How can we get the bird guano to build up faster? What can the birds do?

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by tragedy ( 27079 )

                      Nothing. It's a hopeless case. Sea level is rising too fast. This is an amusing diversion and all, but sea level really is rising faster than any natural island building process other than tectonic uplift to keep up.

                    • Okay, now you're thinking. How can we help he birds to achieve tectonic uplift?

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by tragedy ( 27079 )

                      Your guess is as good as mine. Glue magnets to them? Send them to one of those wizard schools that are apparently all over the place so they can learn magic?

                    • How about this? - We drill down into the bedrock & anchor fine threads, millions of them, with little perches attached. Then the birds can grab 'em & start flapping as fast as their little wings can go. That could lift the island a little bit, right?

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by tragedy ( 27079 )

                      Not likely. There would be no way for the sky above the island to support the sheer number of birds required. I'm not aware that any of the native birds can hover. Also, while flight is not exactly reliant on downward thrust, I am pretty sure that the aggregate aerodynamic effects of pretty much any arrangement of birds that could accomplish anything remotely like this would be counterproductive.

                    • What if the birds had superpowers?

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by tragedy ( 27079 )

                      Obviously that would depend on the superpowers. But sure, with the right superpowers. Then you have the problem of where to get the radioactive spiders.

                    • Right. It's been great chatting with you. I'm off to Tuvalu via Chernobyl.
      • I'd venture a guess that the sea has been rising a lot faster than the turds have been hardening...

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tragedy ( 27079 )

          Recently, certainly. If you clip out the modern age, sea level has been pretty stable for the last 6000 years or so.

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by bradley13 ( 1118935 )

      Places like Tuvalu cannot survive even small sea-level changes

      Nonsense. Islands like Tuvalu have been doing just fine with rising sea levels. It may seem counterintuitive, but there have been numerous scientific articles on the topic, as well as actual measurements to verify it.

      • Here's one example [bbc.com], and the money quote: "In recent times, the inhabitants of many low-lying Pacific islands have come to fear their homelands being wiped off the map because of rising sea levels. But this study of 27 islands over the last 60 years suggests that most have remained stable, w
      • The spring tides in Tuvalu are encroaching further and further inland each year. Some islands grow "upwards" due whats happening below them, they just need to hope they get a growth spurt. Some Caribbean islands have sea shell layers near the tops of hills showing their upward growth

    • Places like Tuvalu cannot survive even small sea-level changes, no matter the cause. Sea level rises due to climate change, which human pollution is certainly aggravating, will hit places like Tuvalu hard. But currently these are small changes compared the 100m or so of sea level rise in the last 10,000 years, all of which was "natural".

      We're talking about sea level rise on the time scale of decades, and you reply that this is small compared to sea level rise that happens on the time scale of ten thousand years???

      You are aware that these are different by orders of magnitude?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by mpercy ( 1085347 )

        Just comparing...

        "Meltwater pulse 1B was a 7.5 m rise over about 160 years."

        "Sea level rose by 6 cm during the 19th century and 19 cm in the 20th century"

        7.5m in 160 years just seems like a bit more than 0.25m in 200 years. And 3.3 mm/yr is 3m per decade or 0.33m per century, so the current rate of sea-level increase seems like a lot less than 7.5m in 160 years.

    • Places like Tuvalu cannot survive even small sea-level changes, no matter the cause.

      Sea levels rise, but Tuvalu wasn't a 100m tall island 10,000 years ago. As the sea levels rise, the island grows (as a coral reef). Charles Darwin did early work on this topic.

  • What's the tax status of individuals who are members of this virtual nation?

  • That's literally the main plot point of the Besson scifi movie "Valarian". The Pearls build a VR version of their lost homeworld inside a spaceship.

    How much land has .TV lost so far?

  • Think the Metaverse will "keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world" ?

    It won't.

  • Which will sink first?

  • Well that is dystopian as fuck

  • but why... (Score:2)

    by Tom ( 822 )

    Why the Metaverse? Which sane person puts something important into the proprietary database of a fickle company that's currently on a fast downward path?

    Create an open dataset in any open format and convince or bribe the various companies running virtual realities to import it. But don't tie yourself to one.

  • The ice is melting fast and freeing up vast tracks of land.
    Yeah is a completely different environment but you adjust in just one generation (30 years) maybe get some Eskimo tutors
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Seem to me that at least a couple decades ago, Tuvalu was known as having its primary source of income as phone and Internet scams? I remember lots of phone PBXs being configured to block all calls coming from Tuvalu since it was nearly certain they weren't anything legitimate.

    Maybe that allows going into the Metaverse and continuing on with their efforts? :P

  • No sane person's going to believe this Metaverse shit, so why is a Tuvalu politician saying it? If we follow the money, who stands to benefit?

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