Surviving climate change in small islands : a guidebook

Abstract

The Earth has experienced many changes during its 4.5 billion year life. There have been ice ages as well as periods of heat and low rainfall. The Earth is accustomed to experiencing wide-spread severe environmental change and it has always adapted to these changes. Since human beings have lived 011 this planet they have coped with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, droughts, floods, heat waves and mini-ice ages as well as numerous other forms of environmental hazards. Yet human beings have not had to cope with a warming of the planet at the speed and scale that is currently occurring and that is expected to increase over the coming decades and centuries.