The mayor of a Virginia island challenged former US vice president Al Gore on climate change during a town hall on Tuesday night.
Tangier Island Mayor James “Ooker” Eskridge told Gore that erosion is the real culprit for his shrinking island, not sea level rise.
“I’m not a scientist, but I’m a keen observer. If sea level rise is occurring, why am I not seeing signs of it?” Eskridge asked during the town hall that aired on CNN.
Photo: AFP
Attendees had screened Gore’s new documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, a follow-up to his 2006 film.
Gore said he was sorry for what the island’s residents are going through and reiterated scientific findings that predict another 0.6m of sea level rise.
“One of the challenges of this issue is taking what the scientists say and translating it into terms that are believable to people where they can see the consequences in their own lives,” Gore said.
Scientists say Tangier Island is eroding into the bay while sea levels are rising against its shores.
Studies predict its dwindling population of 460 people may have to abandon Tangier in 25 to 50 years — if not sooner.
Eskridge and others say that erosion, not sea-level rise, is the real threat and call for infrastructure, such as a sea wall around the island, to protect it.
“The erosion that’s taking place you can almost see every week, every month for sure,” he said in May.
During his interview with CNN, Eskridge said: “[US President] Donald Trump, if you see this ... whatever you can do, we welcome any help you can give us.”
Trump saw the segment and called Eskridge. The two men talked for 10 minutes.
The mayor told CNN that the “president isn’t really a sea-level-rise guy.”
He said they were on the same page regarding the threat of erosion.
Eskridge said he mentioned funding for a sea wall, although the men did not go into detail.
In an interview with the Daily Times of Salisbury, Maryland, Eskridge said Trump told him: “Your island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more.”
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