“Wooden Tombstones!”

It’s a phrase that describes trees literally dying while standing up – caused by salt water seeping into the groundwater where they grow…

It’s an ecological disaster underway right now, and The Guardian newspaper and website has the powerful story.

As reported by Emily Ury, her trip to South Carolina’s coastline as shown her up close the devastation caused by rising sea levels:

“Trekking out to my research sites near North Carolina’s  Alligator River national wildlife refuge, I slog through knee-deep water on a section of trail that is completely submerged. Permanent flooding has become commonplace on this low-lying peninsula, nestled behind North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The trees growing in the water are small and stunted. Many are dead.”

It was a sobering look at the devastation of climate change….the Reporter notes:

“Throughout coastal North Carolina, evidence of forest die-off is everywhere. Nearly every roadside ditch I pass while driving around the region is lined with dead or dying trees.”

Here is what you can find along all coastlines right now:

The powerful article pinpoints the blame for all of the destruction:

“Rising seas are inundating North Carolina’s coast, and saltwater is seeping into wetland soils. Salts move through groundwater during phases when freshwater is depleted, such as during droughts. Saltwater also moves through canals and ditches, penetrating inland with help from wind and high tides. Dead trees with pale trunks, devoid of leaves and limbs, are a telltale sign of high salt levels in the soil. A 2019 report called them ‘wooden tombstones’.”

Bravo to The Guardian and Reporter Emily Ury for the terrific reporting – you can see the entire story here:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/08/ghost-forests-us-coast-sea-level-rise

I have posted about this worldwide crisis before.

J. Maarten Troost is a terrific Writer who has taken us on incredible adventures to one of the most isolated places in the world:

Oh yeah, he knows how to title a book as well!

In his most recent book, he returned to the Equatorial Pacific and was stunned by what he found:

Click here to see the story of how rising sea levels are wiping out the small islands of the South Pacific:

I have also shared the documentary that tells the story of one South Seas leader who took dramatic steps to call attention to rising seas:

These gorgeous islands are at risk of disappearing forever – click here to see the trailer for the riveting documentary “The Island President”:

My goal is to see some of the incredible islands before it’s too late!

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Categories: Books / Media, nature, Travel, Travel Adventures

Tags: climate change trees dying, ecological disasters, the island president, tress dying along coastlines, wooden tombstones, wooden tombstones sea change, world's best travel memoirs, world’s rising seas