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Some US defenses against a North Korean nuclear attack could be knocked out without a shot — by climate change

Rising sea levels linked to climate change threaten to make over a thousand low-lying tropical islands "uninhabitable" by the mid-21st century, including the locations of vital US military installations that would protect the US mainland from attack, according to an alarming new report published in Science Advances.

  • Rising sea levels linked to climate change threaten to make over a thousand low-lying tropical islands "uninhabitable" by the mid-21st century, including the locations of vital US military installations that would protect the US mainland from attack.
  • The research, which the US military helped pay for, found that wave-driven overwash could devastate infrastructure and contaminate the "freshwater availability" on these islands with saltwater.
  • Experts broadly agree climate change poses a significant challenge to national security as well and don't see President Donald Trump doing anything to address this issue.

Rising sea levels linked to climate change threaten to make over a thousand low-lying tropical islands "uninhabitable" by the mid-21st century, including the locations of vital US military installations that would protect the US mainland from attack, according to an alarming new report published in Science Advances.

The research, which the US military helped pay for, found wave-driven overwash could devastate infrastructure and contaminate the "freshwater availability" on these islands with saltwater. In other words, rising sea levels and flooding threaten to ruin drinkable water supplies, making these islands virtually impossible to live on.

The study was conducted by the US Geological Survey, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Deltares and the University of Hawaii.

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The research focused on Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands, which also happens to be the location of part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site. The site is designed to help the US prepare for long-range missile attacks from other countries, including North Korea.

The Washington Post noted that, with Kwajalein Atoll, the US "can practice launching or deflecting nuclear attacks, provide a territorial bulwark against China, [and] immediately detect any launch out of Asia (read: North Korea)."

"Climate change both threatens [Department of Defense] assets globally and appears to enhance the risk of civil conflict in conflict-prone countries," Dr. Robert Kopp, a professor in the department of Earth and planetary sciences at Rutgers University and associate director of the Rutgers Energy Institute, told Business Insider.

"I'm not aware of actions being taken by this administration to address this risk," he added.

xpressed similar sentiments.

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"It's fair to say that climate change poses a direct and indirect threat to US security. Directly from increasing impacts from sea level rise, waves, and intense storms on coastal military infrastructure; indirectly from salinized groundwater supplies and soils, threats to human health, and human migration induced by climate impacts and instability," Keener told Business Insider.

"While the threats are imminent, Guam and the Marshall Islands are being proactive in identifying the problems and starting to plan adaptations and solutions," Keener added.

Guam is also home to key US military assets, including Andersen Air Force Base, and North Korea threatened to launch missiles at the US territory more than once in 2017.

Scientists in Guam have warned climate change poses a direct threat to the island, which is the closest US territory to North Korea. US bombers stationed in Guam would undoubtedly play a key role in any military operations in the region. But research has shown Guam is among the top five most vulnerable US military installations worldwide due to

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